This starter grant award to the University of Oregon will support the research of Professor Michael Haley. The major focus of the research is the synthesis and characterization of extended carbon networks and molecules with a high C:H ratio. Based on MNDO calculations, a low energy phase of carbon consisting of stacked, planar carbon layers equally occupied by sp2 and sp states should be stable. The synthesis of such structures will be carried out based on palladium-catalyzed cross coupling reactions of polyacetylenes. The extended carbon networks will be characterized by x-ray and solid state NMR techniques. %%% The properties of these novel carbon networks will be of great relevance in the search for organic conductors, electrochromic display materials, liquid crystals, synthetic ferromagnets and nonlinear optical materials.
