Research Symposium

BIO

Cody hails from Tampa, FL. As a dual degree student in Chemistry and World Languages, Cody hopes to combine his academic interests to further his research endeavors in chemistry. After graduating from FSU, Cody plans to pursue a Ph.D. in Physical Chemistry to research at the forefront of solar energy development. Using his background in world languages, Cody plans to share these photophysical insights globally and bring efficient ways of harnessing the world's most abundant energy source to the places that need it most.

Investigating Excimer Behavior of Surface-Bound Pyrene Dicarboxylic Acids: A Path to Photophysical Understanding and Control

Abstract

The interactions between molecular chromophores/fluorophores can have a profound impact on their utility in a variety of applications including solar energy conversion, light emitting diodes, and biochemical sensing. When exposed to light, these molecules may form excimers, which lower the excited state energy and provide an alternate pathway to relaxation that competes with desirable events like the generation of light or electrical current. Here, we investigate the structural parameters that dictate light-driven intermolecular interactions via two pyrene dicarboxylic acid derivatives. Pyrene molecules substituted with carboxylic acid surface binding groups at the 1,6 and 2,7 positions, respectively, are used to probe how the orientation and surface coverage of the molecule impact its photophysical properties at the interface. Steady-state and time-resolved spectroscopy are used to show that each molecule possesses unique photophysical properties that may elucidate larger patterns that are common to many varieties of organic chromophores, allowing for better understanding and control of undesirable processes.

Keywords: Chemistry, Light, Physics, Molecules, Energy