Our next webinar will take place via the internet on Tuesday April 26th at 10 AM EDT/3 PM BST. Sign up on our mailing list to receive the Zoom link!
We hope to see/hear from you all at one of our sessions or as one of the next speakers. If you are an early career scientist and would like to present your research, don't hesitate to submit an abstract today! For now, please learn more about our current speakers and their research below. We also thank the generous support from Cell Reports Physical Science, Merck, Janssen, and the Royal Society of Chemistry.
Our featured speakers this week are Brian Long (Graduate Student, Florida State University, USA), and Dr Neha Kumar (Assistant Professor, Dhemaji College, India). The guest moderator is Professor Timothy Warren from Michigan State University.
LEARN MORE ABOUT THE SPEAKERS AND THEIR TALKS BELOW
JULIA KNAPP (on Twitter @BrianLongChem)
Biography: I completed my bachelors degree in 2017 at Miami University in Oxford, Ohio doing cancer research under Prof. Michael Kennedy. In early March this year I defended my PhD in nuclear chemistry at Florida State University studying under Prof. Thomas Albrecht-Schoenzart. My research focused on bonding and electronic properties within organometallic actinide systems.
Title of Talk: "Cyclopentadienyl coordination induces unexpected ionic Am−N bonding in an americium bipyridyl complex"
Abstract: Variations in bonding between trivalent lanthanides and actinides is critical for reprocessing spent nuclear fuel. The ability to tune bonding and the coordination environment in these trivalent systems is a key factor in identifying a solution for separating lanthanides and actinides. Coordination of 4,4′−bipyridine (4,4′−bpy) and trimethylsilylcyclopentadienide (Cp′) to americium introduces unexpectedly ionic Am−N bonding character and unique spectroscopic properties. Here we report the structural characterization of (Cp′3Am)2(μ − 4,4′−bpy) and its lanthanide analogue, (Cp′3Nd)2(μ − 4,4′−bpy), by single-crystal X-ray diffraction. Spectroscopic techniques in both solid and solution phase are performed in conjunction with theoretical calculations to probe the effects the unique coordination environment has on the electronic structure.
DR NEHA KUMAR (on Twitter @nehakumar0926)
Biography: I am Dr. Neha Rani Kumar, currently working as an Assistant Professor in the Department of Chemistry, Dhemaji College affiliated to Dibrugarh University, Assam, India. I teach organic chemistry to undergraduate students. I completed my PhD from the group of Prof. Sanjio S. Zade, Department of Chemical Sciences, Indian Institute of Science Education and Research, Kolkata. My thesis was titled "Exploring Azulene and Thienyltriazine Systems in the Realm of Organic Electronics. My main research area is Synthesis of Conjugated Organic Systems and Their Applications, Synthesis and Application of Conjugated Porous Polymers.
Title of Talk: "Synthesis of bent-shaped pi-extended thienoacenes from 2,5-distannylated 3,4-dialkynethiophene"
Abstract: Bent-shaped thienoacenes show promise as next-generation organic semiconductors. However, the synthesis methods of longer acenes involve either large number of steps or complex starting materials. In this work, we present the synthesis of an air-stable, pure and easily scalable thiophene precursor, 2,5-distannylated-3,4-dialkyne thiophene, starting from 3,4-dialkyne thiophene in quantitative yields. This precursor has been used for the synthesis of a versatile class of syn-thienoacenes comprising up to 13 fused rings, helical acenes and donor–acceptor acenes.