Quantum dots (QDs) are promising photocatalysts due to their large extinction coefficient, large surface area-to-volume ratio, and stability upon irradiation. QDs have been studied in photocatalytic hydrogen production, CO2 reduction, and reduction of small organic molecules such as nitrobenzene. This dissertation describes the application of QDs in two photocatalytic cross-coupling...
Chirality and polarity describe orthogonal mechanisms of inversion symmetry breaking, which is the origin of valuable properties in crystalline materials including nonlinear optical activity, ferroelectricity, and piezoelectricity. Noncentrosymmetric (NCS) materials have numerous applications yet opportunities remain for cooperative coupling between chiral and polar basic building units to realize high-performance materials....
The opposing activities of phosphatases and kinases determine the phosphorylation status of proteins, yet kinases have received disproportionate attention in studies of cellular processes, with the roles of phosphatases remaining less understood. This dissertation describes the use of self-assembled monolayer laser desorption/ionization mass spectrometry (SAMDI-MS) together with peptide arrays to...
Functional electronic materials have transformed modern society toward a highly digitized and interconnected global community. The ever-growing demand for electronic devices with superior functionality poses a great challenge to the state-of-the-art field-effect transistors owing to the limited charge density afforded by silicon. Materials scientists and chemists have been working closely...
Despite prevention and treatment, substantial risk for cardiovascular disease(CVD) remains in the population and CVD has been the leading global cause-of-death in past years.While high-density lipoprotein (HDL) markers such as HDL cholesterol (HDL-C) and HDL efflux (a cholesterol-transport-function assay) are associated with decreased risk of CVD, the mechanism of this...
Continuous and coordinated materials discovery efforts have amassed a wealth of knowledge concerning many general classes of materials. The number of known phases of all structure-types, however, is far less than number of possible materials dictated by the elements on the periodic table. Recently, with improved computational abilities and well-developed...
This dissertation seeks to explore how physical forces, notably through the use of magnetic nanoparticles and applied fields, can influence the structural outcomes of colloidal crystals engineered with DNA. Chapter 1 describes how both DNA and magnetic fields can direct the assembly of nanoparticles into periodic and sometimes crystalline materials....
The lanthanides, with their limited orbital effects and high oxophilicity, represent a class of catalytic metals highly distinguished from more commonly-utilized transition metals. Homogeneous lanthanide catalysts often afford high catalytic rates and impressive selectivity. However, challenges regarding the synthesis and utilization of highly air- and water-sensitive organo-lanthanide complexes have limited...
Electrochemical cell devices are increasingly being sought for energy conversion and storage applications due to their high efficiencies and their potential for operating free of greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions. Solid Acid Electrochemical Cells (SAECs), which most commonly employ CsH2PO4 (CDP) as the electrolyte component, are uniquely suited to meet the...
Organic chromophores show great promise for energy and optoelectronic devices, due to their synthetic tunability and low production costs. In order to achieve this potential, their fundamental photophysical processes must be better understood. It has long been documented that chromophore packing at the molecular level has dramatic effect on electronic...