Harnessing the Reactivity of Strained Macrocycles to Access Discrete Carbon Nanostructures

在化学系化学合成项目的支持下，俄勒冈大学的Ramesh Jasti教授正在研究各种碳纳米结构的合成和制造，这些碳纳米结构具有易于调节的特性。基于合成方法和有机合成策略的发展，这些实验产生的高度均匀的结构将使Jasti团队能够合成具有独特和可预测的光物理和电子特性的超分子纳米结构。Jasti团队的努力为促进化学、材料科学、生物学和物理学等跨学科领域的进步做出了重大承诺。除了为科学进步做出贡献外，Jasti教授还热衷于培养下一代合成化学家和纳米科学家。作为其中的一部分，他致力于通过“催化剂”等项目向各种各样的学生介绍化学和科学，让来自非传统背景的学生参与实践科学经验，为STEM（科学、技术、工程和医学）的大学和职业做好准备。虽然具有径向取向pi系统的分子长期以来一直吸引着科学家，但直到最近它们都是理论结构。综合方法学的进步使这些构造变得切实可行。在该奖项的支持下，Jasti教授的研究小组正在采用自下而上的方法为这一领域做出贡献。他们将深入研究应变碳纳米结构的合成，如新颖的pi扩展管状结构，三倍对称风车结构和膨胀的笼状分子。Jasti小组的努力有望通过战略性地利用新的亲核芳香取代反应和菌株促进的烷基嵌入纳米环的环芳构化反应来扩大可用分子的曲目。这些策略和方法不仅对目标结构的合成至关重要，而且从这些研究中吸取的经验教训可能适用于更广泛的问题，特别是在多芳烃和新兴石墨材料领域。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。

With the support of the Chemical Synthesis Program in the Division of Chemistry, Professor Ramesh Jasti of the University of Oregon is studying the synthesis and fabrication of diverse carbon nanostructures having readily tunable properties. Rooted in the development of synthetic methodology and organic synthesis strategies, the highly uniform structures that result from these experiments will allow the Jasti group to synthesize supramolecular nanostructures having unique and predictable photophysical and electronic properties. The Jasti group’s endeavors hold significant promise for catalyzing advancements across the interdisciplinary domains of chemistry, materials science, biology, and physics. In addition to contributing to the advancement of science, Professor Jasti is enthusiastic about training the next generation of synthetic chemists and nanoscientists. As part of this, he is committed to introducing a diverse range of students to chemistry and science through programs like 'Catalyst' where students from nontraditional backgrounds get involved in hands-on science experiences and get prepared for college and careers in STEM (science, technology, engineering and medicine).While molecules featuring radially oriented pi-systems have long intrigued scientists, until recently they were theoretical constructs. Advances in synthetic methodology have made these constructs tangible. With the support from this award, Professor Jasti's research group is employing a bottom-up approach to contribute to this area. They will delve deeper into the synthesis of strained carbon nanostructures like novel pi-extended tubular architectures, three-fold symmetric pinwheel structures, and expansive cage-like molecules. The Jasti group’s efforts promise to expand the repertoire of available molecules through the strategic utilization of novel nucleophilic aromatic substitution reactions and strain-promoted cycloaromatization reactions of alkyne-embedded nanohoops. These strategies and methodologies will not only be critical for the synthesis of the targeted structures, but the lessons learned from these studies will likely be applicable to a broader range of problems especially in the realm of polyaromatic hydrocarbons and emerging graphitic materials.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.