CAREER: Metallated Polythieno[3,4-b]pyrazines as Ordered Hybrid Materials

North Dakota State University Fargo, Fargo ND

Investigators

Abstract

The Advanced Materials Program in the Division of Chemistry makes this award to North Dakota State University Fargo to synthesize and characterize metal-polymer hybrids prepared from transition metals and polythieno[3,4-b]pyrazine and its alkylated derivatives. These composite materials are expected to have the electro- and photochemical properties of transition metal complexes with the electronic and optical properties of the organic polymer. Since metal centers will be bound directly to the polymer backbone, undesirable steric interactions will be eliminated in addition to stronger metal-polymer electronic coupling. This methodology to prepare composites without the use of copolymeric systems will have synthetic control for the production of well-ordered metallated polymers, which in turn will retain the desirable aspects of the conjugated polymer while allowing the metal centers to serve as electro- or photosensitive switches to modulate the polymer properties. Ordered heterometallic conjugated polymers will also be synthesized to determine structure-property relationships of these hybrid systems, and they will be evaluated for their potential applications in conducting, photo-conducting, and nonlinear optical materials. The Career Development Plan will incorporate History of Chemistry into the chemistry curriculum both at the undergraduate and graduate level courses with credit including seminars and web-based chemical history displays. These programs will also be offered to North Dakota high school science teachers as a way to allow them to include this material in their curriculum. Polymer-metal composites will be prepared from conducting polymers and transition metals. Since the metal centers will be bound directly to the polymer backbone in these materials, these well-ordered and oriented hybrids are expected to provide enhanced electronic and optical properties. Long-term goals of the project will be to prepare heterometallic, multidimensional and conjugated polymer materials for multi-dimensional arrays for potential applications in supramolecular chips for information storage. A new curriculum to teach History of Chemistry will be introduced at both graduate and undergraduate levels. High school science teachers will also be provided opportunities to take the course in History of Chemistry.