Molecular Writing Through Metal Catalysed Iterative C-H Functionalisation

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"Silicon-based devices are the gold standard for writing, storing and accessing information. However, with the global demand of silicon rapidly increasing it is clear that new methods of writing, storing and accessing of information are required. As an alternative to silicon-based devices, polymeric systems have garnered significant interest as they can be stored for prolonged periods without degradation, are energy efficient, and have the potential for high storage densities. The development of polymeric systems as data storage media has predominately been explored through the development of biological and synthetic systems. However, an inherent limitation of both the synthetic and biological polymeric systems developed thus far is that the information is linearly encoded within the polymer chain, for example in the form ABBBAAB. This means within all the developed systems it can be challenging to modify, edit or remove sections of the encoded information as doing so can damage the polymeric chain causing the loss of the stored information. This project looks to develop a transition metal-catalysed C-H functionalisation molecular writing system. By initially synthesising a poly-aryl track with an incorporated functional group a directed C-H functionalisation can site-specifically incorporate a second functional group onto a poly-aryl track. This second functional group installed can in turn facilitate a further site-specific C-H functionalisation. By varying the group incorporated as part of the functionalisation, and by assigning a digit to the functionality incorporated it is possible to encode short sequences. The critical distinction of writing onto a poly-aryl track with the information encoded within the functional groups incorporated, in contrast to polymeric systems in which the information is encoded within the polymeric chain promises a conceptually different approach to the encoding of information. This may allow for the subsequent modification to the information encoded not possible within polymeric systems. This project falls within the EPSRC physical sciences theme research area. "