Exploring redox properties of organic molecules in aqueous solution

The redox activity of organic molecules in aqueous solution play a significant role in a wide range of biological and technological processes, such as photosynthesis, DNA damage and repair, and molecular electronics. The redox properties of the organic molecular motifs involved in these processes are determined by their solvated electronic structure. The aim of this project is to combine UV liquid microjet PES measurements of ionization potentials and cyclic voltammetry measurements of the kinetics and reversibility of electron transfer to determine one-electron
standard reduction potentials of the ground and electronically excited states of a range of biologically and technologically important organic molecules (e.g. substituted phenols and amines) in aqueous solution. These measurements will be informed by, and used to benchmark, computational chemistry calculations of molecules in aqueous solution.