ORCID

http://orcid.org/0000-0003-4043-2847

Date of Award

Winter 12-15-2018

Author's School

Graduate School of Arts and Sciences

Author's Department

Chemistry

Degree Name

Doctor of Philosophy (PhD)

Degree Type

Dissertation

Abstract

ABSTRACT OF THE DISSERTATION

Photophysical Characterization and Wavelength Tuning of Natural and Synthetic Oxobacteriochlorins and Biohybrids

By

Donald L. Hood

Doctor of Philosophy in Chemistry

Washington University in St. Louis, 2018

Dr. Dewey Holten, Chairperson

Herein is discussed the theoretical and practical unpinnings of photophysical behaviors and kinetic constants for tetrapyrrole macrocycles, to wit, porphyrins, chlorins, and bacteriochlorins. Understanding the characteristic photophysical response of tetrapyrroles to changes in environment or substituents is important to designing synthetic chromophores with tunable absorption wavelengths and for preparing useful biohybrids of natural photosynthetic light antennas combined with unnatural chromophores attached to the light antenna oligomers. Synthetic oxobacteriochlorins provide simpler synthetic pathway to the equivalent of highly functionalized natural chlorins while being absorption spectra tunable with the addition of various substituents. Biohybrids of natural light harvesting systems potentially increase the amount of light energy captured and transferred to reaction centers of photosynthetic systems. The studies here directly relate to furthering the increasing organic dye photovoltaic light capture, creation of custom chromophores, and increasing photosynthetic energy transfer.

Language

English (en)

Chair and Committee

Dewey Christine . Holten Kirmaier

Committee Members

Dewey Holten, Christine Kirmaier, Stephen Taylor, Jay Ponder,

Comments

Permanent URL: https://doi.org/10.7936/mxj6-t304

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