9704277 Meyer This Americas Program award will support Dr. Thomas J Meyer, University of North Carolina, Chapel Hill, in a research collaboration with Dr. Barbara Loeb, Pontificia Universidad Catolica de Chile, to investigate the relationship between complex structure and excited-state lifetimes. The major thrust of the study will focus on the design, synthesis, and characterization of a novel class of chemical complexes. The researchers plan to conduct detailed excited state studies, which will include energy gap law correlations and molecular orbital calculations on acceptor ligands. The role of rigidity, delocalization, and redox characteristics will be investigated to determine the excited state behavior of a series of these complexes. The results of this study are expected to have an important bearing upon the rational design of compounds for application in advanced materials. The research will benefit from the combined expertise of the collaborators. The distinct synthesis expertise and computational abilities of the Chilean research group complements the US group's strength in molecular design and photophysical characterization. ***
