June Mbae
Mentor: Dr. Frank Mallory
Conjugated systems have demonstrated their ability to act as electron shuttles and as such may be used as a molecular wire that transfers electrons from an electron donor to an electron acceptor. [n]phenacenes, which are compounds with n benzene rings fused together in an extended zig-zag pattern, have such a conjugated system and could therefore be used to test its utility as a molecular wire. In addition, linked benzene rings have previously been used as molecular wires in a donor-bridge-acceptor molecular complex and as such, the effectiveness of such a wire and that of [n]phenacenes can be experimentally compared. This is especially of interest within the field of nanotechnology. To allow these comparisons, the synthesis of previously unknown [3]phenacenes will be undertaken and the most efficient synthetic path will be thusly determined. In future, the synthesis of [n]phenacenes with n greater than 3 will allow a study into the effectiveness of larger phenacenes as molecular wires and thus increasing our understanding on the chemical characteristics of the said phenacenes.