Development of a South Dakota Photodynamics Research Program

University Of South Dakota Main Campus, Vermillion SD

Investigators

Abstract

This project, creating high tech self-sustaining operations in the field of photodynamics (the study of change associated with the interaction of light and matter), will assemble state-of-the-art facilities and involve faculty in various stages of their careers. South Dakota has made a conscious effort to develop a critical mass of researchers in this area; the effort involves four researchers at the University of South Dakota (USD) and two at South Dakota State University (SDSU), all in the Department of Chemistry. So far this group has had an important impact on the science and technology infrastructure. With funds from NSF, the Petroleum Research Fund, the Department of Defense, private-sector alliances, university sources, and the South Dakota EPSCoR program, some facilities have been added such as two lasers (one nitrogen and one YAG), an x-ray diffractometer, a closed-cycle cryostat, and a laser-based short-lifetime fluorescence spectrophotometer. This project aims at increasing the scholarly activities and promoting the group into the realm of national recognition by providing some necessary additional infrastructure to coalesce this group into a collaborative team that is capable of national competitiveness. As first priority in the development, the Center will increase interaction between existing membership by bringing in distinguished faculty as part of a lecture series, as well as through a visiting scholar program. Other goals include summer symposium support, the augmentation of a faculty start-up package, and the enhancement of graduate and undergraduate research in photodynamics. Nine detailed project descriptions are provided: A Complementary Experimental and Theoretical Study of Energy Transfer Mechanisms for Isolated Lanthanide(III)-Ion Pairs in CsM(II)X3 Hosts, Photodynamics Studies of a Novel Anion-Sensing System, Studies of the Mechanisms of Photoisomerization of Cinnamamides, Thiocinnamamides, and Related Compounds, Studies of the Photofragmentation of Naphthalimide Dyes, Studies of the Complexation of Derivatized Cyclem and Cyclam, Mapping the Excited State Decay Dynamics in a Coupled Lanthanide System, Excited-State Properties of Bimetallic Complexes Containing Cu(II) and Ru(II) Fragments, Molecular Beam Studies of the Decay Dynamics of Isolated Lanthanide Compounds, and Photoinduced Electron Transfer in Chelating Quinone-Bipyridine Complexes.