This award is funded by the Macromolecular, Supramolecular and Nanochemistry Program in the Division of Chemistry. Professor Guangbin Dong of the University of Chicago is supported to develop new approaches for the synthesis of single carbon atom thick graphene nanoribbons arranged in precise armchair pattern. Each ribbon is a tiny fraction of a human hair in width. These materials have potential applications as semiconductors in light-weight and flexible electronic devices. This project addresses the challenges of preparing ribbons with various chemical functional groups and band structures to be incorporated in a new generation of molecular devices. While conducting the project, the Dong group is actively participating in the Leadership Alliance Summer Research Early Identification Program. The intention is to integrate the project with education and outreach and to encourage diverse undergraduate students to explore careers in science and engineering.
The project aims to offer an efficient approach to prepare armchair graphene nanoribbons (aGNRs) with controlled electron band structures and high charge mobility. The project advance three main objectives: to enable a unified approach to prepare aGNRs with various widths; to synthesize aGNRs with precisely installed functional edges; and to develop a chain-growth-polymerization approach to access aGNRs with controlled lengths and prepare aGNR-based P/N junctions. The project makes available a wide range of aGNRs, designed to test and validate hypotheses and theoretical models proposed previously by physicists and physical chemists. The results are expected to accelerate the physical and theoretical studies of these intriguing materials and to advance the understanding of these graphene-like one-dimensional polymers, which in turn would further inspire and stimulate the development of other new conjugated organic semiconducting materials.
