This award, in the Organic Dynamics Program, is made to support the research of Dr. J. Kerry Thomas at Notre Dame University. The research will focus on photo-induced electron transfer in organized assemblies and the subsequent reactions of the photo-produced cations. The techniques used will be laser flash photolysis, where the ionic events are initiated by short, intense flashes of light, and the short-lived radicals and cations produced are monitored by fast absorption and emission spectroscopy and conduction methods. Long-lived products will be monitored by conventional analytical methods such as NMR, IR and electronic spectroscopy and HPLC and gas chromatography. The research will explore methods of generation of cations, solvent effects on the reactions of the cations, methods of increasing charge separation or decreasing back reaction, photoinduced electron transfer in onium salts, use of conducting polymers in the charge separation process, new host systems, and photodynamics in polymer films.
