Presenter: Nathaniel O’Neal
Mentors: Michael Haley and Jonathan Marshall, Chemistry
Poster: 49
Major: Biochemistry
Semiconductors are a key component in electronics because they allow for the control of electron flow throughout a device. Research has shown that organic molecules can act as semiconductors and could prove superior to current semiconductors in use. To further this field of study the Haley lab has developed and experimented on the indenofluorene, an n-type organic semiconductor. However, most of the work done on the framework has been on symmetrical heteroatom substitutions. This has left me with the task of using synthetic chemistry techniques in order to produce asymmetrical heteroatom substituted indenofluorene molecules known as benzo-indaceno-thiophenes. Theoretically, this asymmetry will allow for superior stacking of the molecules in a crystal structure and allow for more efficient electron transfer than its symmetrical predecessors. To date, the substitutions have not made a significant of enough change to the overall motif of the structure to produce a notable difference but the knowledge garnered from such experimentation is valuable to the field as a whole.