With the support of the Division of Chemistry, the Office of Strategic Initiatives, and the Division of Materials Research, Prof. Ying Diao and collaborators at the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign and the University of Washington will develop novel approaches to imparting materials with the ability to control the electron spin. This project will focus on unveiling fundamental design rules for chiral emergence from achiral semiconducting polymers.

By leveraging the ability of chiral structures to control the electronic spin, the research team aims to modulate chemical reaction pathways to increase the efficiency of electron transfer and energy transduction. The fundamental knowledge to be gained from this research will inform future design of electronics and redox active materials critical for advancing semiconductor technologies. The multidisciplinary research training of students and the educational activities aim to increase the STEM workforce. The educational activities through the Farmers’ Market, the high school summer camp, the Electrochemical Bootcamp will be on the topics of chirality, self-driven labs, directed assembly, polymer sciences and electronics, which are aligned with the research program.