Molecular Conductance and Induced Reactivity in Group 14 Constructs

哥伦比亚大学化学系的Colin Nuckolls、Latha Venkataraman和James L Leighton教授在化学系化学结构、动力学和机制B项目的资助下，正在创建和研究基于14族的西格-共轭分子材料的物理化学性质，如金属丝、环和多环结构，以展示不同寻常的电子、电子驱动的催化和量子力学性质。这个项目可以增加对纳米级硅电子学的理解，这是信息时代的核心。该项目还包含旨在增加科学家数量的更广泛的影响目标。它计划通过一项跨越K-8扩展，课程开发和本科生和研究生研究培训的协调努力来实现这一目标。在每一项努力中，研究人员都致力于增加历史上代表性不足的群体在科学领域的参与。具体来说，该项目的研究领域包括三个集成组件，通过合成和单分子测量相结合来研究硅和锗基分子组件，以：(1)了解新设计系统的基本结构/功能特性；(2)了解原子间的键相互作用如何影响分子性质；(3)产生由施加在这些分子上的键应变和/或静电场催化的原位化学。总体目标是创建新的基于14族的分子结构，研究它们，并在单分子水平上催化选择性sigma键的反应。该奖项反映了美国国家科学基金会的法定使命，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。

In this project, funded by the Chemical Structure, Dynamic & Mechanism B Program of the Chemistry Division, Professors Colin Nuckolls, Latha Venkataraman, and James L Leighton of the Columbia University Department of Chemistry are creating and studying the physicochemical properties of Group 14 based sigma-conjugated molecular materials such as wires and cyclic and multicyclic structures to demonstrate unusual electronic, electronically driven catalytic and quantum mechanical properties. This project can increase understanding of nano-scale silicon electronics, which is at the heart of the information age. The project also contains broader impacts objectives that aim to increase the number of scientists. It plans to do so by a coordinated effort that spans K-8 outreach, curriculum development, and research training for undergraduate and graduate students. In each of these efforts, the researchers are committed to increasing the participation of historically underrepresented groups in the sciences. Specifically, the research areas for this project consist of three integrated components studying silicon and germanium-based molecular components through a combination of synthesis and single-molecule measurements to (1) understand fundamental structure/function properties in new designed systems; (2) understand how bonding interactions across atoms impact molecular properties; (3) create in situ chemistry that is catalyzed by bond strain and/or the electrostatic field applied to these molecules. The overall objective is to create novel Group 14-based molecular structures, interrogate them, and catalyze reactions across selective sigma-bonds at the single-molecule level.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.