CAREER: Synthesis and Reactivity of Polyaromatic Hydrocarbon Belts: Towards a Bottom-Up Organic Synthesis of Carbon Nanotubes

有了这个职业奖，化学合成项目支持了波士顿大学Ramesh Jasti教授的研究。Jasti教授将开发有机合成工具，最终使结构明确的碳纳米管（CNTs）的制备成为可能。碳纳米管由于其独特的电子和光学特性而成为纳米科学中最有前途的材料之一。然而，目前的合成方法产生的碳纳米管混合物具有不同的碳原子排列，因此具有不同的物理性质。为了实现这一目标，Jasti教授和他的团队将开发几种多芳烃（PAH）带的合成——碳纳米管的短片段。除了它们与碳纳米管的关系外，这些结构几十年来一直是人们寻找的非天然合成靶点。这些合成的先决条件是开发出能够构建高度应变的多环芳烃的方法。有了这些带结构，Diels-Alder聚合反应将把这些带延伸到更长的碳纳米管中。碳纳米管作为新的太阳能材料、更快的电子元件和单分子生物传感器的组成部分已经显示出前景。具有明确、均匀结构的碳纳米管的合成将极大地促进工程师、物理学家和材料科学家开发这些潜在的革命性纳米技术。除了使新的碳纳米管技术成为可能之外，该计划还将培养跨学科的科学家，使他们能够将复杂的分子合成应用于纳米科学中的问题。Jasti教授选择的合成靶点将为研究生和本科生提供合成有机策略、方法发展和反应机制的全面背景知识。此外，为了给高中生提供跨学科的科学体验，Jasti教授将与Steppingstone基金会和上界数学和科学项目合作开发科学研讨会。

With this CAREER Award, the Chemistry Synthesis program is supporting the research of Professor Ramesh Jasti at Boston University. Professor Jasti will develop organic synthesis tools that will ultimately enable the preparation of structurally well-defined carbon nanotubes (CNTs). CNTs are among the most promising materials in nanoscience due to their unique electronic and optical properties. Current synthetic methods, however, produce CNT mixtures that have different arrangements of carbon atoms and, therefore, different physical properties. To achieve this goal, Professor Jasti and his group will develop syntheses of several polyaromatic hydrocarbon (PAH) belts - short fragments of carbon nanotubes. Aside from their relationship to CNTs, these structures have been long sought non-natural targets of synthesis for decades. A prerequisite to these syntheses is the development of methodologies that can construct highly strained PAHs. With these belt structures in hand, a Diels-Alder polymerization reaction to extend these belts into longer carbon nanotubes will be developed. CNTs have shown promise as new solar energy materials, components of faster electronics, and single molecule biosensors. Syntheses of CNTs with well-defined, homogeneous structures will greatly facilitate engineers, physicists, and materials scientists in the development of these potentially revolutionary nanotechnologies. In addition to enabling new CNT technologies, the proposed program will train interdisciplinary scientists with the ability to apply complex molecule synthesis to problems in nanoscience. Professor Jasti's choice of synthetic targets will provide graduate and undergraduate students with a thorough background in synthetic organic strategy, methodology development, and reaction mechanism. In addition, in order to provide an interdisciplinary science experience to high school students, Professor Jasti will develop science workshops partnering with the Steppingstone Foundation and the Upward Bound Math and Science Program.