Spectroscopic Studies of Intermolecular Chiral Recognition and Electronic Energy Transfer Processes in Solution and in Crystals

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In this Experimental Physical Chemistry project funded by the Chemistry Division, Prof. Richardson (University of Virginia) will use time resolved luminescence measurements to study differential reaction kinetics in mixtures of optically active components. Parameters derived from these measurements carry information about both the magnitude and sense ("handedness") of the luminophore-quencher interactions, and provide a new and useful tool for studying chiral aspects of structural dynamics. %%% Molecules whose mirror images are not superimposable have long fascinated chemists, because of the subtle interplay between reactivity and symmetry. Prof. Richardson has developed a new spectroscopic method for studying fast chemical reactions among such molecules, which has the capability of measuring reaction rates without the need for tedious and difficult separation of the mirror image species. This method will be used to provide important information on how the "handedness" of excited molecular states leads to recognition of similar handedness in final products. The result will be a deeper understanding of the stereochemistry of fundamental reaction mechanisms.