Daniel Akins of CUNY City College is supported by the Experimental Physical Chemistry Program to investigate electron transfer (ET) between donors and acceptor molecules in ordered molecular matrices using picosecond time-resolved Raman spectroscopy. His research will focus on (a) structural changes accompanying ET; (b) the interplay between the conformational change induced in neighboring molecules and the ET process; and (c) a system in which porphyrin derivatives are positioned in artificial matrices with well-defined distances and orientations. The PI will investigate the structural changes of the scattering species (reactant, intermediate, product species or matrix) as a function of time after the photoinitiated ET process. Specific experiments include monitoring conformational change in a model system: a synthetic bilayer with intercalated donor and acceptor of known distances and orientations, and measuring rates of ET as either separation distance or orientation is varied. These studies focus on electron transfer between molecules embedded or attached to media that separate and orient electron donors and acceptors. Alignment systems of this nature are crucial for important biological processes such as enzymatic reactions and photosynthesis. Some practical `spin-offs` that may be facilitated by an improved understanding of ET are the use of synthetic ET systems in bioengineering applications such as drug delivery and the elucidation of the cancer-killing mechanisms of some drugs. In addition, improved knowledge might enable us to design efficient artificial molecular devices for capturing and storing solar energy and for information processing at very high efficiencies.
