Redox and Photoactive Metallyne σ-Alkynyl Complexes With Linear and Cross-Conjugated Ligands

Sean N Natoli, Purdue University

Abstract

My thesis combined a wide variety of research interests and allowed me to gain expertise in a diverse array of fields. While they are at their core interconnected, I divided these research areas into six separate chapters for the sake of delineating my accomplishments in each. A prominent theme throughout my thesis work was the synthesis of transition metal-alkynyl complexes that could serve as molecular surrogates for bulk electronic materials. Chapters 1-3 detail my contributions to the field of cross-conjugated organometallic compounds. Chapters 4-5 represent my contributions to the development of a new synthetic methodology toward making Co(cyclam) bis-alkynyl compounds. In chapter six I discuss a newly designed undergraduate research experiment that combines both molecular magnetism and rudimentary synthetic inorganic techniques. In addition to independent research, I was the lead contributor from the Ren laboratory in a collaboration with a team of scientists and engineers under the direction of Dr. Christina Hacker, National Institute of Standards and Technologies (NIST), and of Professor Qiliang Li, George Mason University, to develop non-volatile flash memory devices. Under the lead of Professor William E. Geiger, University of Vermont, we explored new grafting methods to covalently attach redox-active molecules to electrodes, thus creating a new class of materials based on organometallic compounds I synthesized. As a member of the McMillin laboratory, I had the opportunity to work with Dr. Jong Hyun Choi, Professor of Engineering at Purdue University, and contribute to his investigation of new light harvesting materials based on exfoliated MoS2 thin films. Across these different research areas, I have contributed to sixteen peer-reviewed publications in chemistry, materials science, and physics journals. My Ph.D. research has resulted in scholarly awards and has been used as material for lectures in an organometallic chemistry course given by Dr. Paul Fischer, Professor at Macalester College.

Degree

Ph.D.

Advisors

McMillin, Purdue University.

Subject Area

Chemistry

COinS