RUI: Switchable Molecules and Materials Through Coordination of Verdazyl Radicals

圣何塞州立大学化学系的David Brook教授正在研究一系列具有可切换磁性结构的含过渡金属分子和材料，该项目由化学系化学结构、动力学和机制b项目资助。通过在温度、光和电势等外部影响下在不同的磁性状态之间切换，这些分子和材料可以应用于传感器、信息存储和分子计算。高中生，本科生和硕士研究生将在研究中发挥作用。他们将在实验化学方面获得广泛的经验，从有机和无机合成到许多分析技术的使用，包括光谱学，质谱学，电化学，磁化学和x射线晶体学。学生将参与国内和国际研究合作，并有机会在美国和西班牙的主要用户设施进行测量。过渡金属和f-嵌段元素配位化合物具有形成具有不稳定电子结构的分子的潜力（即分子可以在磁性或其他性质不同的电子状态之间切换）。这项研究涉及探索和开发这种不寻常的财产，并有几个目标。第一个目标是了解金属-配体相互作用中导致电子不稳定的因素，而第二个目标是将不稳定离子与导电反离子电子偶联，以形成具有新型磁阻行为的新材料。该团队将研究f块元素（镧系元素和锕系元素）的硫酰配合物，以开发新的单分子磁铁，并利用自组装原理合成和研究电子不稳定金属中心的扩展簇，探索相邻金属离子之间的相互作用。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 Research at Undergraduate Institution (RUI) project funded by the Chemical Structure, Dynamics and Mechanisms-B program of the Chemistry Division, Professor David Brook of the Department of Chemistry at San Jose State University is studying a series of transition metal-containing molecules and materials with switchable magnetic structures. By switching between different magnetic states as a result of external influences such as temperature, light and electrical potential, these molecules and materials may have applications as sensors, and in information storage and molecular computing. High school students, undergraduate students, and master's level graduate students will play a role in the research. They will gain broad experience in experimental chemistry, from organic and inorganic synthesis to the use of numerous analytical techniques including spectroscopy, mass spectrometry, electrochemistry, magnetochemistry, and X-ray crystallography. Students will participate in national and international research collaborations and will have the opportunity to make measurements at major user facilities in the US and Spain.Transition metal and f-block element coordination compounds of verdazyl radical ligands have the potential to form molecules with labile electronic structures (i.e. the molecule can switch between electronic states that differ in magnetic or other properties). The research involves the exploration and exploitation of this unusual property with several goals in mind. The first goals it o understand the factors in the metal-ligand interaction that give rise to electronic lability, while the second goals is to electronically couple labile ions with conducting counterions to form new materials with novel magnetoresistive behavior. The team will study verdazyl complexes of f block elements (both lanthanides and actinides) in order to develop new single molecule magnets and using principles of self assembly to synthesize and study extended clusters of electronically labile metal centers, exploring the interactions between neighboring metal ions.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.