This award is made in the Organic Dynamics Program to Dr. Matthew Zimmt at Brown University. The goal of Dr. Zimmt's work is to advance the fundamental understanding of how electrons are transferred across space. This process is of great significance to a number of chemical and biochemical reactions as well as organic microelectronics. The role of symmetry, orientation and bond connectivity in modulating rates of intramolecular transfer will be addressed. The primary systems to be studied comprise a novel set of donor-spacer-acceptor molecules which enforce an unambiguous geometric relationship between donor and acceptor. The results of these studies are relevant for the design of molecular scale electronic components. The dynamic consequence of conformational mobility in systems where transfer parameters are strongly modulated will be investigated. The systems to be investigated will include all three types of electron transfers: charge separation, charge recombination and charge shift. The effect of the structure of the surrounding medium on the rate and range of electron transfer reactions will also be investigated.
