CAREER: Regulating Charge Transport through Pi-Conjugated Electronic Materials

技术概述：下一代功能性有机材料的开发和实现——作为智力努力和商业材料——将需要来自合成、评估和应用等看似无关的领域的贡献。Tovar教授在约翰霍普金斯大学发起了一个项目，该项目将提供有机材料化学方面的广泛培训，重点是开发新的策略来调节通过有机电子塑料的电荷传输。对新分子结构的研究将产生具有更高导电性、更强发光性或更强环境稳定性的改进材料。在CAREER奖的支持下，Tovar研究小组将(1)重新研究历史上相关但不寻常的芳香成分，希望通过共轭聚合物增强电荷传输；(2)设计化学可切换的pi共轭拓扑结构，这将使固态电子特性发生戏剧性和可逆的变化，同时伴随着最小的大分子构象变化。在这些努力中，制造和破坏芳香电路的概念将成为实现新功能材料性能的重要设计标准。本研究的执行将涉及结构复杂的π共轭分子结构的连续化学合成循环，然后是详细的光谱和电化学表征。Tovar教授的研究团队成员将在芳香族系统的合成有机化学以及复杂的分析电化学技术方面获得专业知识，这些技术通常不会向有机化学的学生介绍。有机会参与第一手的多学科研究合作将提供工作流畅的许多前沿途径，合成化学在推动新科学方面发挥着重要作用。非技术总结：从有机聚合物中衍生的导电塑料作为更成熟的无机材料的可行替代品的开发具有重要的兴趣。有机聚合物更容易加工，使它们能够制成重量轻、面积大、甚至灵活的设备。这些塑料设备的应用范围从便携式光伏电池，发光显示器和可涂电子产品到新的生物相容性医疗材料。这个职业奖将支持旨在学习如何调节这些不寻常的有机塑料的电子特性的研究。如果合成有机化学领域以外的更大的群体不能以某种方式参与进来，无论是小孩子还是工程学科的专家，这门科学将产生最小的广泛影响。在CAREER奖的支持下，确保这种影响的努力包括(1)在附近的公共图书馆启动一个涉及K-5儿童动手化学体验的项目；(2)组织现有的化学本科生和当地高中生之间的交流，以鼓励对大学水平的化学的研究；(3)参与建立一个在有机基材料科学和纳米技术方面有共同兴趣的学术和联邦机构的当地科学家网络。

TECHNICAL SUMMARY:The development and realization of the next generation of functional organic materials - as intellectual endeavors and as materials of commerce - will require contributions from the seemingly unrelated areas of synthesis, evaluation and application. Professor Tovar has initiated a program at Johns Hopkins University that will provide broad training in organic materials chemistry with an emphasis on the development of new strategies to regulate charge transport through organic electronic plastics. Investigation of new molecular architectures will yield improved materials with higher electrical conductivities, stronger luminescence or greater environmental stabilities. With the support of this CAREER award, the Tovar research group will (1) re-examine historically relevant yet unusual aromatic components with the desire to enhance charge transport through conjugated polymers and (2) design chemically-switchable pi-conjugated topologies that will enable the realization of dramatic and reversible changes in solid-state electronic properties accompanied by minimal macromolecular conformational changes. Throughout these efforts, the concept of making and breaking aromatic circuits will be an important design criterion for realizing new functional materials properties. The execution of this research will involve a continual loop of chemical synthesis of structurally complex pi-conjugated molecular architectures followed by detailed spectroscopic and electrochemical characterization. Members of Prof. Tovar's research team will gain expertise in the synthetic organic chemistry of aromatic systems as well as with sophisticated analytical electrochemical techniques not typically introduced to students of organic chemistry. Opportunities to participate first-hand in multi-disciplinary research collaborations will provide working fluency in many cutting-edge avenues where synthetic chemistry plays a major role to advance new science.NON-TECHNICAL SUMMARY:There is significant interest in the development of electrically conductive plastics derived from organic polymers as viable alternatives to more established inorganic materials. Organic polymers are much easier to process, allowing them to be fashioned into lightweight, large area, and even flexible devices. Applications for these plastic devices range from portable photovoltaic cells, light-emitting displays and paintable electronics to new biocompatible medical materials. This CAREER award will support research intended to learn how to regulate the electronic properties of these unusual organic plastics. This science will have minimal broader impact if the greater community outside the sphere of synthetic organic chemistry cannot be engaged in some way, be they young children or experts in engineering disciplines. Efforts to ensure this impact under the auspices of this CAREER award involve (1) initiating a program involving hands-on chemistry experiences for K-5 children at a nearby public library, (2) organizing exchanges between current chemistry undergraduates and local high school students to encourage the study of college-level chemistry and (3) participating in the establishment of a local network of scientists at academic and federal institutions who share common interests in organic-based materials science and nanotechnology.