This starter grant award of the Chemistry Division to the University of California at Davis supports the research of Professor Matthew Augustine. The theme of the research is the use of nuclear magnetic resonance (NMR) with optical spectroscopy to understand energy transfer problems on a molecular level. Limits on the feasibility of the technique as it is extended to pulse mode will be examined on a simple solution of benzophenone in acetonitrile. The excited-state electron transfer in energy storage materials such as organometallic complexes like divalent (Ru(bpy)3)2+ will also be investigated. The study of molecular energy-transfer and electron-transfer processes such as are examined in this project is important for understanding photosynthesis, designing better optical sensing devices and light-harvesting systems, and in the study of energy-storage materials
