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Inorganic Chemistry Seminar Series: Michael Inkpen – University of Southern California
October 26, 2023 | 3:00 pm - 4:00 pm
About the Seminar:
Title:
Abstract:
Junctions comprising individual molecules “wired” between nanoscale electrodes approach the limit of miniaturization for electronic circuits used in computation and data storage. While studies of these atomically-precise systems expose molecular structure-charge transport property relationships critical for the development of useful electronic components (e.g., wires, switches, or diodes), the wider capabilities of such junctions, for example, to form and break chemical bonds, remain understudied. We are applying glovebox-based scanning tunnelling microscope-based break-junction (STM-BJ) methods to probe single-molecule junctions formed from reactive molecules and functional electrode metals such as Ag, Cu, and Co. Through STM-BJ conductance measurements of appropriate molecular models, we are also exploring an alternative “bottom-up,” approach to electronic (band) structure design in extended ordered polymers such as covalent organic and metal-organic frameworks (COFs and MOFs). Together, our work aims to develop a deeper understanding of molecular assembly, heterogeneous catalysis, and charge transport processes from the nanoscale to bulk that can be applied in the design of new devices and materials with improved properties.
About the Speaker:
Mike obtained his M.Chem. from Durham University, and his Ph.D. from Imperial College London, UK with Prof. Nicholas J. Long and Prof. Tim Albrecht (now at the University of Birmingham). He spent two years at Columbia University, U.S.A. as a Marie Skłodowska-Curie Fellow, in the group of Prof. Latha Venkataraman. In October 2017 he returned to Europe for the final year of his fellowship, working with Prof. Philippe Hapiot at the University of Rennes 1, France. In January 2019, Mike joined the faculty at the Department of Chemistry, University of Southern California, USA as an Assistant Professor of Chemistry.