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Topic Name: Tomorrow's Semiconductor-Carbon Molecule With A Charge
Category: Electronics
Research persons: Professor Harry Dorn
Location: Virginia, United States
Details
Researcher- Professor Harry Dorn
Abstract-
Virginia Tech chemistry Professor Harry Dorn has developed a
new area of fullerene chemistry that may be the backbone for development of
molecular semiconductors and quantum computing applications.
Research history- Dorn plays with the hollow carbon molecules known as
fullerenes as if they are tinker toys. First, in 1999, he figured out how to put
atoms inside the 80-atom molecule, then how to do it reliably, how to change the
number of atoms forming the carbon cage, and how to change the number and kinds
of atoms inside the cage, resulting in a new, more sensitive MRI material and a
vehicle to deliver radioactive atoms for applications in nuclear medicine.
As part of the research to place gadolinium atoms inside the
carbon cage for MRI applications, Dorn created 80-atom carbon molecule with two
yttrium ions inside. Then he began to fool with the materials of the cage
itself. He replaced one of the 80 atoms of carbon with an atom of nitrogen
(providing Y2@C79N). This change leaves the nitrogen atom with an extra
electron. Dorn discovered that the extra electron, instead of being on the
nitrogen atom on the fullerene cage surface, ducks inside between the yttrium
ions, forming a one-electron bond. "Basically, a very unusual one electron bond
between two yttrium atoms," he said.
(M2@C79N )- Discovery of this new class of stable molecules (M2@C79N )
was supported by computational studies by Daniel Crawford, associate professor
of chemistry at Virginia Tech, and the structure was confirmed by x-ray
crystallographic studies by Alan Balch , professor of chemistry at the
University of California, Davis.
This research is reported in the September 6, 2008, online
issue of the Journal of the American Chemical Society (JACS), in an article by
Dorn and his colleagues at Virginia Tech and UC Davis.* The article does not
speculate about potential applications, but Dorn does.
"No one has done anything like this," said Dorn. "Since the
article was published, we now know that we can take the electron back out of the
fullerene cage."
Implication- He says the discovery could be important to the new fields of spintronics, molecular electronics, and micro to nanoscale electronics, as well
as the new field of quantum computing.
"The single electron bonded-diatomic yttrium has unique spin
properties that can be altered. Increasing the polarization of this spin, could
be important for improving the sensitivity of MRI and NMR, he said.
But more interesting are the electronic applications. "If we
replace one of the carbon atoms with boron instead of nitrogen, we would be an
electron short, instead of having an extra electron. Now you have the components
of a semiconductor," Dorn said.
"I don't down whether it is important yet or not," he said.
"People have been working on adding a nitrogen atom to standard 60-carbon
fullerene."
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