The projected increase in the use of nanomaterials raises concerns about adverse impacts new technologies utilizing these materials may have on the environment. These concerns can be addressed from a chemical perspective by studying how emerging nanomaterials interact with biological systems. Fundamentally, the key interactions for nanomaterial uptake into a...
High-pressure and -temperature synthesis is a powerful tool for synthesizing new intermetallic compounds that cannot be formed using traditional solid-state syntheses. Such metastable compounds can exhibit unrivaled structural complexity, unique bonding, and unusual properties. In the simplest case, there are many binary systems in which no intermetallic compounds are known....
The diverse reactivity patterns, unique structural features imparted by the cumulated double bonds, and possibility of axial chirality have garnered allenes considerable attention in organic synthesis. Numerous methods have been described in the literature to afford optically active allenes starting from chiral starting materials, yet catalytic and asymmetric methods to...
The expanding use of nanomaterials in consumer products challenges scientists to understand the impact of these materials before their inevitable release into the environment. In the same way that the widespread use of DDT and asbestos has caused unforeseen negative impacts on both the environment and on human health, the...
My research interests, which span organic, inorganic, physical and biochemistry, have focused broadly on photo-, magneto- and redox-active molecules, especially those with potential applications in organic photovoltaics, spintronics and electronics. My research under the joint supervision of Professor Wasielewski and Professor Fraser Stoddart has concentrated upon understanding electronic and magnetic...
The electronic spin state (S) of metal ions is fundamental to the performance of magnets, protein cofactors, and magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) contrast agents. The ability to manipulate the spin state of transition metals allows for the development of advanced materials with emergent properties. This following chapters will introduce two...
The work presented in this dissertation examines the interplay between electron transfer reactions and electron spin in photoactive organic molecules. Organic compounds that undergo electron transfer reactions after absorbing light are important in natural photosynthesis, photobiology, and synthetic photovoltaics. These electron transfer reactions depend on the spin states of the...
The development of organic photovoltaic devices benefits from understanding the fundamental processes underlying charge generation in thin films of organic semiconductors. This dissertation exploits model systems of π-stacked chromophores such as perylene-3,4:9,10-bis(dicarboximide) (PDI) and 3,6-bis(aryl)diketopyrrolopyrrole (DPP) to study these processes using ultrafast electronic and vibrational spectroscopy. In particular, the characterization...
Quantum information processing (QIP) is an emerging computational paradigm with the potential to enable a vast increase in computational power, fundamentally transforming fields from structural biology to finance. QIP employs qubits, or quantum bits, as its fundamental units of information, which can exist in not just the classical states of...
The overarching goal of this work is to understand nanometer scale junctions and electron transport through molecules in these junctions. Calculations detailing quantum interference in the electron transport through molecules, and the control of these features, show great potential for use as discrete electronic elements. Concurrent work on the fabrication...