Molecular Writing Through Metal Catalysed Iterative C-H Functionalisation

“硅基设备是书写、存储和访问信息的黄金标准。然而，随着全球对硅的需求迅速增加，显然需要新的信息写入、存储和访问方法。作为硅基器件的替代品，聚合物系统已经引起了人们的极大兴趣，因为它们可以长时间存储而不会降解，节能，并且具有高存储密度的潜力。聚合物系统作为数据存储介质的发展主要是通过生物和合成系统的发展来探索的。然而，迄今为止开发的合成和生物聚合物系统的固有局限性是，信息在聚合物链中是线性编码的，例如以ABBBAAB的形式。这意味着在所有已开发的系统中，修改、编辑或删除编码信息的部分可能具有挑战性，因为这样做会破坏聚合链，导致存储信息的丢失。该项目旨在开发一种过渡金属催化的碳氢化合物功能化分子书写系统。通过初始合成带有结合官能团的聚芳基轨道，定向C-H功能化可以定点地将第二个官能团结合到聚芳基轨道上。安装的第二个官能团反过来又可以促进进一步的位点特异性C-H功能化。通过改变组合作为功能化的一部分，并通过为组合的功能分配一个数字，可以对短序列进行编码。与信息编码在聚合链内的聚合物系统相比，将信息写入聚芳基轨道的关键区别在于，信息编码在聚合链内的聚合物系统承诺了一种概念上不同的信息编码方法。这可能允许对聚合体系内不可能编码的信息进行后续修改。该项目属于EPSRC物理科学主题研究领域。”

"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. "