Cyclodextrin-based polymers (CDPs) are adsorbents based on supramolecular receptor chemistry and have emerged as a promising technology for organic micropollutant remediation. Micropollutants are small organic molecules which contaminate water systems from human related activities. The occurrence of micropollutants in water sources is associated with many negative health, economic, and ecological...
Surface-enhanced Raman scattering (SERS) spectroscopy has been demonstrated to be a powerful analytical tool. Its chemical specificity, rapidity, and portability make it an attractive technique for biosensing, but its application to this field has been limited by the fundamental distance dependence of the surface-enhancement effect. Many biological molecules of interest...
This dissertation describes the study of photoinduced charge transfer between QDs and molecular acceptors as a probe of the defects within ligand shells of QDs and as means to photocatalyze redox reactions. For charge transfer reactions to occur between QDs and molecules in bulk solution, the molecules must interact with...
Hybrid Organic-inorganic halide perovskites are emerging semiconducting materials that have shown over 23% in power conversion efficiency (PCE) for solar cells. The most prominent materials, three-dimensional (3D) perovskites, have limited scope for structural engineering and exhibit instability when encounter with moisture and heat. Here, we focus on studying the structure-property...
Triplet excited state chemistry has enabled a range of important organic transformations by accessing reaction pathways inaccessible to photoredox chemistry. Such photoreactions are triggered by triplet photosensitizers, which absorb visible-light photons and transfer the energy to the substrate or to a co-catalyst through triplet-triplet energy transfer (TT EnT). The most...
Molecules are highly social: they recognize one another and form bonds with those they are attracted to and repel those they are not. Some molecules establish strong bonds, while others form weak, transient associations. These interactions are ubiquitous in Nature and are integral to life. For at the basis of...
Crystalline and Framework materials make up a broad class of structures which are known for their precise and regular nature. Because these materials have predictable structures and compositions to their networks, they are widely used for several applications including electronics, optics, and catalysis. While these materials are of particular interest,...
Many transcription factors (TFs) regulate oncogenic processes and are therefore desirable targets for drug intervention. However, few TF inhibitors have been developed to date due to a lack of specificity and few TF binding pockets. The Meade Lab has overcome these challenges by using cobalt-based complexes that disrupt Cys2His2 zinc...
A fundamental understanding of the photophysics involved in solar energy capture and conversion is crucial to the development of carbon-neutral energy technologies. Taking inspiration from nature, the photosynthetic reaction center (PSRC) is often modeled by simpler versions of its elements to allow for better control over the system and for...
Soft materials are inherently fluxional, with morphologies and behaviors that are dictated by their solvation state. Thus, many organic systems cannot be reliably imaged by static dry state or cryogenic-transmission electron microscopy (TEM). This motivated us to pursue liquid cell (LC) TEM method development to study our own materials and...