Professor Timothy Swager (MIT)

Max Tishler Prize Lecture

Title: Electronic Molecular Materials for High-Performance Chemical Sensors

Abstract: In this lecture I will detail our efforts to make use of semiconducting and conducting organic materials for the formation of chemical sensors with high selectivity and sensitivity.  Key to our methods are the intrinsic transport properties of these highly delocalized electronic.  I will detail optical (emissive) methods that make use of excitonic transport and our recent efforts on the detection of per-/poly-fluoroalkane substances (PFAS) at low ppt levels.  Charge transport (electrical conduction) chemiresistive systems that can be readily integrated into electrical circuits. I will focus on the translation of transition metal reactions and catalysis to produce selective sensors.  In this case I will make use of classical catalytic organometallic reactions (Heck, Wacker,..) and will also demonstrate the utility of metal nanoparticles.  

Biography:  Timothy M. Swager is the John D. MacArthur Professor of Chemistry at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology. He is known for innovations in organic chemistry, polymers, and analytical science. A number of his contributions have focused on the development of new materials and methods that allow for ultra-trace detection of chemicals and biological species.