Our group utilizes a variety of electrochemical and photochemical experimental techniques in our general efforts aimed at delineating the factors that control the mechanisms and dynamics of organic reactions occurring in homogeneous solution and in heterogeneous, ordered environments.

Our main research interest is directed towards incorporating solution phase photochemical, electrochemical and thermal reaction  systems into the structure of self-assembled monolayers on electrode, nanoparticle and other metallic surfaces. The impetus lies in the fact that organic modified nanoparticles and electrodes have important technological implications because of their enormous potential in a variety of material and device applications. Our objectives are i) to develop strategies to exploit the photo-, electro- and thermal chemical reactions of these systems to serve as probes to aid in our basic understanding of the mechanistic factors that control molecular interactions and organic reactions at organized monolayer interfaces, and ii) to develop new and selective ways of adding (or removing) functionality to these monolayers.

Another key area of interest is the study of the reactions of radical ions (charged species formed when a neutral organic molecule gains or loses a single electron). The reactivity of these radical anion and radical cation intermediates is relevant in all areas of chemistry and biochemistry. We are one of only a few groups in Canada who use organic electrochemistry for studies of reaction mechanisms. Our capability to combine both the electrochemical and photochemical methods facilitates the generation and study of the kinetics and thermodynamics of the reactions of radical ions that are important in biological and material applications.

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