Tags: Organic Seminar

Aggregation induced emission (AIE) molecules are a type of compounds that emit weak fluorescence in diluted solution but emit strong fluorescence in aggregated state. Traditional organic fluorescent molecules tend to emit strong fluorescence in diluted solutions, but their fluorescence will be quenched in aggregated state, which are also known as aggregation-caused quenching (ACQ) effect. The effect is due to the excimer formed due to the π-π…
In a multi-outcome experiment (MOE), there is at least one modifiable unknown component for students to identify. In the three projects in this talk, unknown starting material will the unknown component to identify. Student will utilize a series of modern analytical techniques to characterize the final product, including NMR spectroscopy, IR spectroscopy and melting point determination. This kind of multi-outcome experiments help bridge the gap…
Carbon-carbon bond cleavage remains a frequently difficult synthetic task, yet nature is built upon the making and breaking of carbon-carbon bonds through enzyme-catalyzed reactions. One example, 2,4’-dihydroxyacetophenone dioxygenase (DAD), catalyzes the oxidative cleavage of the α-hydroxyketone side-chain of 2,4’-dihydroxyacetophenone (DHAP). While this enzyme has only been cursorily investigated, the DAD reaction bears notable similarity to…
This research project stems from the desire to explore and eventually harness the enzymatic mechanism of 4-(hydroxymethyl)-2-furan-
carboxaldehyde-phosphate synthase (MfnB). The enzyme of interest, MfnB, is found most prominently in methanogens and has the ability to catalyze five or more separate chemical transformations in a single active site. This singular enzyme takes two molecules of glyceraldehyde-3-phosphate to create a furan-containing…
Organic, hybrid, and 2D materials have attracted interest for electronic applications due to their potential for use in low-cost, large-area, flexible electronic devices. Here we will report on recent developments pertaining to surface modifiers and dopants that could impact the charge injection/collection/transport processes in organic light emitting diodes, organic field effect transistors, and photovoltaic devices. In particular, we will…
Hydrogen bonding is one of the most well-characterized non-covalent interactions.  Analogous to hydrogen bonding, halogen bonding has become an important focus of study, notably in supramolecular chemistry.  The geometric specificity of hydrogen and halogen bonding is often exploited to build crystal frameworks.  These two interactions can be used in tandem to created novel organic frameworks.  Direct competition occurs…
When the steepest descent pathway following a transition state structure for a given reaction splits in two, the reaction is said to involve a post-transition state bifurcation (PTSB). The presence of a PTSB presents complications for predicting product selectivity, in that a single transition state structure allows direct access to two products without any intervening minima (intermediates). Examples of reactions from organic synthesis and…