This project is in the general area of analytical and surface chemistry and in the subfield of organic electrochemistry. The broad thrust of this innovative experimental program includes the synthesis and characterization of new macromolecules, molecular arrays, oligomers, and polymers. These new materials hold exciting promise for potential use in molecular electronics devices, as new electrocatalytic surfaces, and as models for understanding membrane electrochemical processes. The properties of these new molecular systems that will be focussed upon include: (a) the single molecule electronic conductivity of "molecular wires" of polyacenequinones and thiophene oligomers; (b) the bulk electrical conductivity of appropriately reduced polyacenequinones and of molecular arrays and conducting polymers; (c) the electronic structures of polyacenequinones and thiophene oligomers in solution and in organized arrays; (d) the near-infrared and infrared electronic excitations of polyacenequinone anions; and (e) the mechanical properties of conducting polymer films used as electrodes in solution. Voltammertic, surface force microbalance, Langmuir-Blodgett, and four-point probe techniques will be used to characterize electron transfer and conductivity in these systems. Electronic and magnetic resonance spectroscopies will be used as probes of molecular and electronic structure. Professor Miller will collaborate with chemistry and chemical engineering colleagues at the University of Minnesota, the University of Nebraska, and the University of California at Riverside as needed to provide expertise for this broad, multidisciplinary activity that offers exciting possibilities for the development of new materials with tailored electronic, structural, and mechanical properties.
