Title: Electronic Molecular Materials for High-Performance Chemical Sensors
Abstract:
In this lecture I will detail our efforts to make use of semiconducting and conducting organic materials for the formation of chemical sensors with high selectivity and sensitivity. Key to our methods are the intrinsic transport properties of these highly delocalized electronic. I will detail optical (emissive) methods that make use of excitonic transport and our recent efforts on the detection of per-/poly-fluoroalkane substances (PFAS) at low ppt levels. Charge transport (electrical conduction) chemiresistive systems that can be readily integrated into electrical circuits. I will focus on the translation of transition metal reactions and catalysis to produce selective sensors. In this case I will make use of classical catalytic organometallic reactions (Heck, Wacker,..) and will also demonstrate the utility of metal nanoparticles.
Bio:
Timothy M. Swager is the John D. MacArthur Professor of Chemistry at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology. A native of Montana, he received a BS from Montana State University in 1983 and a Ph.D. from the California Institute of Technology in 1988. After a postdoctoral appointment at MIT, he joined the University of Pennsylvania from 1990-1996, returned to MIT in 1996 as a Professor of Chemistry, and served as the Head of Chemistry from 2005-2010. He has published more than 550 peer-reviewed papers and more than 130 issued/pending patents. Swager’s honors include: Election to the National Academy of Sciences, an Honorary Doctorate from Montana State University, National Academy of Inventors Fellow, The Pauling Medal, The Lemelson-MIT Award for Invention and Innovation, and Election to the American Academy of Arts and Sciences. His research interests are in design, synthesis, and study of organic-based electronic, sensory, energy storage, membranes, liquid crystals, and colloids. He has founded seven companies (DyNuPol, Iptyx, PolyJoule, C¬2 Sense, Xibus Systems, ArO-x, and Fluorityx). (Courtesy of AIChE website)
Host: Prof. Julian Cooper