Syntheses of new ladder molecules and exploration of their electrical and optical properties

芝加哥大学的Luping Yu教授得到化学系大分子、超分子和纳米化学（MSN）项目的支持，开发合成方法来制备新的电子供体-受体分子结构单元，并将它们连接在称为低聚物的小链中。 低聚物具有梯子的形状。 梯形低聚物的研究，以确定分子结构和功能之间的关系，作为电荷转运。 目的是开发由于光吸收而具有增强的电子发射的低聚物。该项目集成了合成化学、材料科学、理论计算和器件生成。 其最终目标是为有机材料在有机发光晶体管（OLETs）和其他分子电子器件中的潜在应用奠定基础。 在项目实施过程中开发的知识产权由工业合作伙伴商业化。 该项目的另一个目标是培养材料化学和电子器件一代的下一代科学家。 学生和其他专业人员接受跨学科的培训，并学习必要的技能，以面对未来的科学挑战。少数民族学生参与该项目，并鼓励他们从事科学事业。共轭梯状低聚物是一类重要的材料，表现出有趣的光学和电学性质。在这个项目中，合成方法涉及几个成环反应的梯形低聚物含有新的电子给体-受体（DA）建筑图案的发展。 新的概念，重点是改善溶解性和改善光电性能的制定和新一代的D-A梯形低聚物具有独特的电荷传输性能进行了探索。 理论计算是用来通知合成的努力。 这些低聚物代表了一类新的有机半导体，具有可控的带隙，轨道能级和晶体结构。研究了这些材料的电学和光学性质以及分子结构/晶体结构与电荷输运性质（迁移率）之间的关系。其目的是制备具有增强的光电发射效率的梯形低聚物，用于有机发光晶体管（OLETs）和其他电子器件。该奖项反映了NSF的法定使命，并通过使用基金会的知识价值和更广泛的影响审查标准进行评估，被认为值得支持。

Professor Luping Yu of the University of Chicago is supported by the Macromolecular, Supramolecular and Nanochemistry (MSN) Program of the Division of Chemistry to develop synthetic approaches to prepare new electron donor-acceptor molecular building blocks and link them together in small chains termed oligomers. The oligomers have the shape of a ladder. The ladder oligomers are investigated to determine the relationship between molecular structure and function as electric charge transporters. The objective is to develop oligomers with enhanced emission of electrons as a result of absorption of light. The project integrates synthetic chemistry, material science, theoretical computation and device generation. The ultimate goal is to establish the foundation upon which useful organic materials are developed for potential applications in organic light emitting transistor (OLETs) and other molecular electronic devices. The intellectual properties developed during the course of conducting the project is commercialized by industrial partners. Another goal of this project is to nurture the next generation of scientists in materials chemistry and electronic device generation. Students and other professionals receive interdisciplinary training and learn the skills necessary to face future scientific challenges. Underrepresented minority students are involved in the project and encouraged to pursue scientific careers.Conjugated ladder oligomers are a class of important materials that exhibit interesting optical and electrical properties. In this project, synthetic approaches involving several annulation reactions to ladder oligomers containing new electronic donor-acceptor (D-A) building motifs are developed. New concepts with emphasis on improved solubility and improved optoelectronic properties are formulated and a new generation of D-A ladder oligomers with unique charge transport properties are explored. Theoretical calculations are employed to inform the synthetic effort. These oligomers represent a new classis of organic semiconductors with controlled band gap, orbital energy levels and crystal structures. The electrical and optical properties of these materials and the relationship between molecular structure/crystal structure and charge transport property (mobility) are investigated. The aim is to prepare ladder oligomers with enhanced photoemission efficiency for applications in organic light emitting transistor (OLETs) and other electronic devices.This award reflects NSF's statutory mission and has been deemed worthy of support through evaluation using the Foundation's intellectual merit and broader impacts review criteria.