Research Projects

Researchers are focusing on stable π-conjugated monoradical to polyradical systems as potential materials for organic electronics, non-linear optics, spintronics, and energy storage devices. However, the stability of these open-shell radical systems is a critical issue due to high reactivity. To overcome this, researchers are exploring the doping of heteroatoms like B, P, S, and N to understand their electronic properties. Doping boron gives electron-accepting characters and Lewis acidic centers, while phosphorus gives electron-donating characters. These heteroatom doped graphenes have applications in supercapacitors, anodes in Li-ion batteries, cathode catalysts in fuel cells, and sensors. Most of these graphenes are synthesized by chemical vapor deposition of carbon and heteroatom sources, but this method has limitations due to structurally nonuniform materials. To address this, a bottom-up synthesis based on surface assisted coupling or amplified growth of heteroaromatic compounds is desirable. Recently, heteroatom doped nanographenes have gained attention as starting units for bottom-up syntheses and well-defined substructures for heteroatom doped graphenes. This project aims to synthesize compounds 1, 2, and 3 and their related structures to study their electronic and magnetic properties, as well as explore their potential applications in organic electronic devices.