SGER: Design of Organometallic Molecular Machines

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This Small Grant for Exploratory Research (SGER) award by the Inorganic, Bioinorganic and Organometallic Chemistry program supports research by Professor Theodore J. Burkey at the University of Memphis to prepare light-driven molecules that undergo reversible sub-picosecond isomerizations with unit quantum yields. These molecules are potential devices in optical switches, digital memory or light-driven computers. The molecules are designed to function by exchange of chelated ligands through an isomerization based on ring opening followed by the formation of another chelate ring. Ligands, metal centers and chelate rings will be designed so that the photochemically driven isomerization is ultrafast and efficient to the exclusion of all other processes. Organometallic compounds based on cymatrene-type complexes will be studied to analyze important structural features. Two types of rotational motion around a single carbon-carbon bond will be studied: 1) A conrotary motion of different geminal functional groups on a single side chain, and 2) A disrotary motion of different vicinal functional groups on a ring that formally is a two side-chain derivative. Selected compounds will be examined by ultrafast IR to determine the mechanism of isomerization, participation of solvent and dissociated ligands, and the time scale of related processes.Molecules for potential use in light-driven electronic devices will be studied. These studies will provide a fundamental understanding of ultrafast processes of photochemical bond breaking and subsequent bond formation.