CAREER: Rational Design of Perfluoroalkylated N- and S-Containing Heteroaromatics for Engineering High Performance Air-stable OFET Materials with Lamellar pi-pi Stacked Structure

在化学学部化学结构、动力学与机理B项目和材料研究部固体与材料化学项目的支持下，南达科他州大学的孙浩然教授将领导这个CAREER项目，旨在1)设计、合成和表征含N和s的全氟烷基异芳超分子合成子，制备具有层状pi-pi堆叠结构的有机半导体材料；2)促进对分子结构、弱分子间非共价相互作用、固态结构和器件功能之间关系的基本理解；3)培养学生解决材料科学领域复杂问题的能力。孙教授的研究重点是这些全氟烷基化超分子合成物的合成和组装，用于下一代电子产品的低成本和高性能有机半导体器件。研究小组希望通过合成和计算方法来识别这些超分子合成子。在项目期间，不同层次的学生也将接受培训，学习解决材料科学问题的技能。该项目解决了开发下一代高性能有机半导体材料的基本问题之一：如何设计可以组装成所需功能材料的超分子合成子。对弱非共价分子间相互作用的基本理解有望对新的有机功能材料的设计产生重大影响，并有助于新药的设计。该项目的多学科性质将为学生解决当今材料化学中重要的复杂问题提供良好的培训。除了这些令人兴奋的研究活动，孙教授还将继续将前沿的研究项目融入到本科高级化学专业课程的教学中。研究小组将与当地学校合作，在当地举办“儿童土狼科学教育”和“可再生能源研讨会”等教育推广活动。研究和教育的成功结合将提供必要的劳动力发展，并使各级学生培养解决与材料科学有关的社会问题的技能。

With the support from the Chemical Structure, Dynamics & Mechanisms B program in the Chemistry Division and the Solid State and Materials Chemistry program in the Division of Materials Research, Professor Haoran Sun at the University of South Dakota will lead this CAREER project aiming to 1) design, synthesize, and characterize perfluoroalkylated N- and S-containing heteroaromatic supramolecular synthons to prepare organic semiconductor materials with lamellar pi-pi stacked structure; 2) advance fundamental understanding of the correlation between molecular structure, weak intermolecular non-covalent interactions, solid-state structures, and device function; and 3) train students to solve complex problems in materials sciences. Professor Sun's research focuses on the synthesis and assembly of these perfluoroalkylated supramolecular synthons for low cost and high performance organic semiconductor devices for next generation electronics. The research team expects to identify these supramolecular synthons through both synthetic and computational approaches. During the project period, students at different levels will also be trained to learn skills for solving problems in materials sciences. This project addresses one of the fundamental questions in developing next generation high performance organic semiconductor materials: how to design supramolecular synthons that can assemble into desired functional materials. A fundamental understanding of weak non-covalent intermolecular interactions is expected to have substantial impact on new organic functional materials design and to assist new drug designs. The multidisciplinary nature of this project will provide excellent training to students for solving complex problems important to today's materials chemistry. In addition to these exciting research activities, Professor Sun will continue to integrate cutting-edge research projects into undergraduate teaching for advanced chemistry major courses. The research group will work with local schools to organize educational outreach activities including "Coyote Science Education for Kids" and "Renewable Energy Workshop" for general public in local areas. The successful integration of research and education will provide the necessary workforce development and prepare students at all levels to develop skills for solving societal problems related to materials sciences.