Chirooptical Studies of Crystal, Liquid, and Gaseous Phase Molecules

University Of Tennessee Knoxville, Knoxville TN

Investigators

Abstract

With this award the Organic and Macromolecular Chemistry Program supports the work of Drs. Richard M. Pagni and Robert N. Compton of the Department of Chemistry at the University of Tennessee, Knoxville. The work has two objectives: 1) producing high enantiomeric purity organic compounds in solution using multiphoton photochemistry with circularly polarized light, and 2) producing chiral crystals by carrying out crystallizations in the presence of electrons or positrons. Making chiral (left or right handed) molecules and crystals with high purity is becoming increasingly important in a number of areas, including pharmaceuticals and advanced materials. The PIs have proposed some novel ways to do this using circularly polarized light, or particles (electrons or positrons) with opposite spins. While the work is high risk, it could potentially have a large impact, including shedding light on the origins of chirality in biological molecules like aminoacids.