Molecular Photonic Materials

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This award in the Inorganic, Bioinorganic and Organometallic Chemistry program supports research by Professor Gerald J. Meyer at the Johns Hopkins University to couple photo-induced charge separation events with molecular catalysis. Experiments will be performed to enable the development of integrated materials capable of harvesting sunlight, charge separation, and performing multielectron transfer catalysis to form useful fuels. Steady state and time resolved electrochemical and spectroscopic techniques will be used to characterize redox reactions that occur after metal-to-ligand charge-transfer (MLCT) excitation of Ru(II) and Fe(II) coordination compounds integrated and spatially arranged within sol-gel processed mesoporous nanocrystalline thin films, comprised of the wide bandgap semiconductor TiO2 or the insulator ZrO2. A goal is to specifically elucidate the role ligand field excited states play in non-radiative decay and photochemical ligand loss. This research intends to identify materials that efficiently convert sunlight into useful forms of energy and will specifically probe the reactivity of ligand field excited states that have historically limited the utility of many compounds for energy conversion. The project will train young scientists to be future professionals and forge links to interdisciplinary materials chemistry. The PI has also planned symposium and workshop on energy and environmental chemistry. New laboratory experiments and classroom instructional materials will also be developed.