Speaker
Grant Luce
Speaker's Institution
Colorado State University
Date
2026-11-05
Time
4:00pm
Location
Chemistry A101
Mixer Time
3:45pm
Mixer Time
Chemistry B101E
Calendar (ICS) Event
Additional Information
Seminar Abstract:
Photocatalysts play a major role in facilitating many chemical processes, but often need heavy metals to reach great catalytic efficiency, which can be toxic and expensive. [Fe(bpy)3]2+ has been a long-studied photosensitizer for its many similarities to the popular photocatalyst, [Ru(bpy)3]2+ , while being a more sustainable molecule. A major difference between the two molecules is that the iron complex cannot remain in its metal to ligand charge transfer (MLCT) state for the same long duration that the ruthenium complex can. This long, excited state is what gives the ruthenium complex such great catalytic efficiency. Much research has been done to show the iron complex excites into a 1MLCT state and relaxes to a 5T2 metal centered state. There have been theorized pathways for this 2 electron flip relaxation pathway but none had been confirmed. In this presentation, I will show how 2D electronic spectroscopy (2DES) done by the Schlau-Cohen group (Lee, et al. Chem. Sci., 2023.), was used to uncover how the iron complex relaxes at ultrafast timescales, and that multiple pathways of relaxation are occurring simultaneously to facilitate this process.

