Physical Organic Chemistry of Materials

@WorkentinChem小组的重点是解决界面有机反应的基本物理有机方面，并利用所获得的知识来设计和合成新材料，并展示潜在的应用。分子在溶液中的反应得到了一套成熟的物理有机化学方法的支持，但分子在材料界面上的反应却没有得到很好的理解。我们设计和合成有机分子系统，这些系统经过特定的热、光化学反应或电化学反应，作为界面材料环境的探针。一旦了解，这些反应为选择性表面修饰提供了新的平台，以建立新的结构。我们努力的一个基石是了解金属纳米颗粒表面和碳质材料上界面反应的独特机制因素。这些研究背后的重要性和动机在于这些类型的功能材料在纳米医学、生物成像、药物输送、分子和生物分子电子学、传感器、催化等领域的增值产品开发中的应用。我们的研究考察了控制这些独特的纳米材料的表面反应性和分子相互作用的基本因素。我们正在通过从化学性质(结构-反应性关系、构象和取向迁移率)和物理性质(结构、有序-无序现象、反应条件)方面考察光诱导、氧化还原激活和热反应性来解决这些问题。对这些因素的全面了解对于合理设计和控制特定应用的任何经修改的表面都是至关重要的。

The @WorkentinChem Group’s focus is to address fundamental physical organic aspects of interfacial organic reactions and to utilize the knowledge gained to design and synthesize new materials and to demonstrate potential applications. Reactions of molecules in solution are supported by a well-developed set of methods from physical organic chemistry, but the reactions of molecules at the interface of materials are not as well understood. We design and synthesize organic molecular systems that undergo specific thermal, photochemical, or electrochemical reactions to serve as probes of the interfacial material environment. Once understood these reactions provide new platforms for selective surface modifications to build new architectures. A cornerstone of our efforts focuses on understanding the mechanistic factors that are unique to interfacial reactions on metal nanoparticle surfaces and carbonaceous material. The importance and motivation behind these studies lies in the utility of these types of functional materials in the development of value added products in nano-medicine, bio-imaging, drug delivery, molecular and biomolecular electronics, sensors, catalysis etc. Our studies examine fundamental factors that control surface reactivity and molecular interactions in these unique nanomaterials. We are addressing these issues by examining photoinduced, redox activated and thermal reactivity in terms of chemical properties (structure-reactivity relationships, conformational and orientation mobility) and physical properties (structure, order-disorder phenomena, reaction conditions). A complete understanding of these factors is essential for the rational design and control of any modified surface for a particular application.