Chemistry Defense: Victoria Cinnater: "Synthesis and Interrogation of Spintronic and Photophysical Properties in Highly Conjugated Porphyrin Based Chromophores"

Synthesis and Interrogation of Spintronic and Photophysical Properties in Highly Conjugated Porphyrin-Based Chromophores

Understanding how molecules control the movement of charge and spin is central to developing next-generation technologies in energy conversion and electronics/spintronics. Here, highly conjugated porphyrin-based assemblies are designed to elucidate structure-function relationships that govern their electronic, photophysical, and spin-dependent behavior. This dissertation describes the synthesis and characterization of highly electron-deficient porphyrin oligomers with exceptional oxidative power. These systems exhibit panchromatic absorption, long-lived excited states, and high quantum yields, underscoring their utility as high-potential photooxidants for challenging light-driven oxidation reactions relevant to energy conversion and photocatalysis. In parallel, this work probes the chirality-induced spin selectivity (CISS) effect through the design of porphyrin-based assemblies that incorporate distinct chiral elements. This approach enables systematic investigation of how different chiral motifs influence spin-polarized electron transport, providing new mechanistic insight into spin transport across complex molecular architectures. Together, these results define design principles for controlling optical, electronic, and spintronic behavior in conjugated porphyrin systems, informing the development of next-generation electronic and spin-based materials.

Contact

Chem Admin Office
chem-office@duke.edu