CAREER: Correlating Organic Radical Structure to Electrochemical and Photophysical Properties: Evolving Energy Storage and Light-Emitting Materials

在这个由化学部化学结构、动力学和机理B计划资助的职业项目中，德克萨斯州立大学化学和生物化学系的Todd Hudnall教授正在开发具有易于调节的电化学和光物理性质的新型有机自由基。本研究的目的是利用这些有机自由基的特性来开发有机储能和发光材料。该项目位于有机化学、无机化学和材料化学的交界处，非常适合各级科学家的教育。化学和生物化学系的本科生和研究生将有机会与来自化学、工程和物理的专家合作。由于德克萨斯州立大学是得克萨斯州最大的拉美裔服务学院之一，托德·哈德纳尔教授也做好了准备，将增加科学、技术、工程和数学(STEM)专业中代表性不足群体的学生的招生和留住。Hudnall教授与当地高中和儿童博物馆的成员合作，设计科学课程，致力于通过化学和物理科学的动手实验提供基于问题的学习体验。托德·哈德纳尔教授的研究团队成员和当地高中生设计并实施了模仿大学水平研究人员经验的实验，以鼓励高中生在大学攻读理科学位。稳定的有机自由基独特的电子构型绕过了经典量子力学的限制，如泡利不相容原理，使这些分子成为下一代能量/记忆存储和有机发光二极管材料的良好候选者。自由基模体来源于单线态卡宾或卡宾激发的部分，这使得能够快速调整所生成的有机自由基的电化学和/或光物理性质。这一策略允许合成新的有机自由基结构来发展动态结构与性质的相关性。这些研究回答了以下问题：1)卡宾的电子性质如何影响自由基的电化学和/或光物理性质？2)这些体系的电化学窗口可以扩展到什么程度？3)通过还原发射阳离子得到的中性自由基是否也是发射的？托德·哈德纳尔教授还通过与当地高中、儿童博物馆和美国童子军的合作，纳入了包括K-12学生在内的外展活动的教育部分。

In this CAREER project funded by the Chemical Structure, Dynamics & Mechanism B Program of the Chemistry Division, Professor Todd Hudnall of the Department of Chemistry and Biochemistry at Texas State University is developing new classes of organic radicals that feature readily tunable electrochemical and photophysical properties. The goal of this research is to exploit the characteristics of these organic radicals for the development of organic energy storage and light-emitting materials. The project lies at the interface of organic, inorganic, and materials chemistry, and is well suited for the education of scientists at all levels. Undergraduates and graduate students in the Department of Chemistry and Biochemistry will have opportunities to collaborate with experts from chemistry, engineering, and physics. Professor Todd Hudnall is also well poised to increase the recruitment and retention of students from underrepresented groups in science, technology, engineering and mathematics (STEM) as Texas State University is one of the largest Hispanic Serving Institutes in Texas. Professor Hudnall works with members of local high schools and children's museums to design science curricula dedicated to providing problem-based learning experiences through hands-on experimentation in the chemical and physical sciences. Members of Professor Todd Hudnall's research team and local high school students design and implement experiments that mimic the experiences of collegiate level researchers in order to encourage the high school students to pursue science degrees in college. The unique electronic configuration of stable organic radicals circumvents classical quantum mechanical limitations such as the Pauli Exclusion Principle, making these molecules good candidates for next generation energy/memory storage and organic light-emitting diode materials. The radical motifs are derived from singlet carbenes or carbene-inspired moieties that enables the rapid tailoring of the electrochemical and/or photophysical properties of the resultant organic radicals. This strategy allows the synthesis of novel organic radical architectures to develop a dynamic structure-property correlation. These studies answer the following questions: 1) How do the electronic properties of the carbene influence the electrochemical and/or photophysical properties of the radical? 2) To what extent can the electrochemical window be expanded for these systems? 3) Will neutral radicals obtained by reduction of emissive cations likewise be emissive? Professor Todd Hudnall also integrates an educational component inclusive of outreach activities involving K-12 students through partnerships with local high schools, children's museums, and the Boy Scouts of America.