Special Chemistry Graduate Seminar by Professor Vaidhyanathan Ramamurthy, University of Miami
Title
Chemistry in a Capsule: Manipulating Photochemical Processes Through Confinement and Weak Interactions
Abstract
Chemical reactions occur in all three states of matter (gas, liquid and solid). But the most important chemical reactions in biological systems are distinct in occurring in confined environments in water often times on cell surfaces. Entrapment of molecules and understanding their behavior in relation to their micro- and macro environments is thus important in gaining knowledge on the functioning of the animate and inanimate objects around us and creating new materials and devices. Reactions in the biological systems are highly selective while those in gas phase and in organic solvents tend to yield a mixture of products. A long cherished goal of photochemists has been to achieve selectivity in photoprocesses (chemical and physical) through the use of confining media and weak interactions. Results of our studies on the excited state behavior of organic molecules enclosed within molecular containers in aqueous medium and on inert (silica, clay, α-ZrP) and active (TiO2 and gold nanoparticle) surfaces will be presented.
by
Professor V. Ramamurthy
Department of Chemistry
University of Miami
Coral Gables, FL, USA
Brief introduction to the speaker
Ramamurthy (Murthy) following early education in India (B. Sc and M. Sc degrees) moved to USA for graduate and postdoctoral education. Following training in the laboratories of Professors R. S. H. Liu (University of Hawaii; Ph. D. degree), P. de Mayo (Uni. Western Ontario; postdoctoral studies) and N. J. Turro (Columbia University; postdoctoral studies), Murthy returned to India in 1978 to take up an Assistant Professor position at Indian Institute of Science, Bangalore where he conducted research in organic photochemistry till 1987. In 1987 Murthy moved to the DuPont Company, Wilmington and continued to research on fundamental problems related to supramolecular chemistry, solid-state chemistry and zeolite chemistry (1987-94). In 1994 he returned to academic setting and continued his teaching and research activities at Tulane University (1994-2004; Bernard-Baus Professor of Chemistry) and University of Miami (2005-). While at DuPont Murthy edited a monograph “Photochemistry in Organized and Constrained Media” in 1991 that led to a series titled “Molecular and Supramolecular Photocehmistry” (14 volumes, 1994-2004). Recently he co-authored a textbook “Modern Molecular Organic Photochemistry” (N. J. Turro,V. Ramamurthy and J. C. Scaiano. Ramamurthy has authored over 350 scientific publications and co-edited 20 monographs and special issues for various journals. In addition to being a researcher and administrator (department chair since 2004), he also serves as a Senior Editor for the ACS journal Langmuir.
More about the speaker
Ramamurthy was born in India on August 21, 1946. Following primary and secondary schooling in a village, he attended the Government Arts College, Kumbakonam from where he earned B. Sc degree in 1966. He obtained M. Sc degree from Indian Institute of Technology, Madras in 1968, following which he pursued his graduate education at University of Hawaii, Honolulu, USA and received Ph. D. degree in 1974. He received postdoctoral training in the laboratories of Professors P. de Mayo (University of Western Ontario, 1974-75) and N. J. Turro (Columbia University, 1975-78). He returned to India to take up an Assistant Professor position at Indian Institute of Science, Bangalore where he remained till 1987. During this period he directed the dissertation of 16 Ph. D. students, published close to 120 papers and co-edited a special issue on Organic Chemistry in Anisotropic Media, for Tetrahedron. At the Indian Institute of Science, he initiated a thriving research program in organic photochemistry and worked on the photochemistry of thiocarbonyl compounds and initiated studies on supramolecular photochemistry.
In 1987, he joined the Central Research Division of the The DuPont Company, Wilmington, DE and remained till 1994. During this period he explored photochemical studies of organic molecules within zeolites, which led to several pioneering publications on the control of excited state behavior of molecules within the well-defined zeolite interiors. He also edited a monograph entitled Photochemistry in Organized and Constrained Media, an invaluable resource for photochemists interested in initiating Supramolecular Photochemistry. During this period he co-edited a two-volume Photochemistry-Special issue for Chemical Reviews, a compendium of a number of reviews from leaders in the field of photochemistry that provided a new thrust to photochemical research.
In 1994, Ramamurthy assumed the position of Bernard-Baus Professor of chemistry at Tulane University, New Orleans. This position provided him the opportunity for full time research in basic science. While at Tulane he guided 17 students to receive Ph. D. degree, initiated a thriving program on chiral- and supramolecular photochemistry, co-edited a 12 volume series on Molecular and Supramolecular Photocehmistry, 2 journal special issues (J. Phys. Chem. and Tetrahedron) and published over 100 manuscripts. At Tulane he briefly returned to his old passion of Crystal Photochemistry. It is from Tulane he and his group demonstrated the value of zeolites as photochemical media to carry out selective photochemistry including chiral chemistry. Their pioneering contributions have attracted wide attention from photochemists and supramolecular chemists. During this period he co-edited a monograph Chiral Photochemistry that has become a valuable starting point for photochemists desiring research on this topic.
In 2005 January Ramamurthy moved to University of Miami, Coral Gables as Professor and Chair of the Chemistry department where he is currently directing a group of 10 co-workers. The transition also brought a change in his research emphasis. At Miami, he has pursued photochemical studies of organic molecules in water. In this context he has used a number of well-defined water-soluble organic hosts as reaction media and has demonstrated the value of confined environments in controlling excited state behavior of organic molecules. Publications from Miami are marked with originality, innovation and depth.
During this period he also completed a long-standing commitment to co-author (with Professors N. J. Turro and J. C. Scaiano) a textbook on photochemistry. Recently published Modern Molecular Organic Photochemistry, which has received rave reviews, is expected to be of significant value to photochemists and physical organic chemists for several decades.
During his career Ramamurthy has sought after experts on related disciplines to pursue problems that are at the borderlines of photo-, solid state-, zeolite-, supramolecular- and spin chemistries. He attributes his success to his ability to interact and learn from his students, collaborators and colleagues. In addition to being a researcher and administrator (department chair since 2003), he also serves as a Senior Editor for the ACS journal Langmuir. This responsibility, he believes has provided him considerable opportunity to expand his interest in interdisciplinary areas.
