Dr. Andrzej Rajca e-mail: Dr. Andrzej Rajca Rajca's Web Page Dr. Rajca's Research Group Site NCMN Homepage

 

Current Research

Professor Rajca’s research area of interest is organic chemistry with emphasis on novel materials with magnetic, conducting, and optical properties. Understanding of fundamental aspects of electronic structure and its dependence on the size ranging from fraction of nanometer to several nanometers is the underlying theme of many projects in this research group.

Currently, their focus is on the design and synthesis of stable high-spin polyradicals. Following the design principles developed for the polyarylmethyls, they are working on syntheses of high-spin polynitroxides and other polyradicals stable at ambient condition. They are in search for macrocyclic cores and linkers that are promising building blocks for preparation of organic polymer magnets with improved ordering temperature and stability at ambient conditions (“plastic magnets”).

Their efforts are aimed at the synthesis and study of chiral π-conjugated molecules and polymers, precursors to organic chiral semiconductors/conductors and materials for chiral waveguides. The target molecules include molecules related to a hypothetical allotrope of carbon (3-dimensional graphite) and sulfocarbons (CnSm). A number of chiral organic molecules with interesting molecular structure and properties are being prepared in this research group.

Recent Publications

A. Rajca, S. Rajca, “Asymmetric Synthesis of Chiral Tetraphenylenes” Angew. Chem. Int. Ed. 2010, 49, 672 – 674.

A. Rajca, V. Kathirvelu, S. K. Roy, M. Pink, S. Rajca, S. Sarkar, S. S. Eaton, G. R. Eaton, “A Spirocyclohexyl Nitroxide Amino Acid Spin Label for EPR Distance Measurements” Chem. Eur. J. 2010, 16, 5778 – 5782.

J. K. Zak, M. Miyasaka, S. Rajca, M. Lapkowski, A. Rajca, “Radical Cation of Helical, Cross-Conjugated β–Oligothiophene” J. Am. Chem. Soc. 2010, 132, 3246 – 3247.

P. J. Boratyński, M. Pink, S. Rajca, A. Rajca, “Isolation of S = 1 Ground State Aminyl Diradical”, Angew. Chem. Int. Ed. 2010, 49, 5459 – 5462.

M. Miyasaka, M. Pink, S. Rajca, A. Rajca, “Spiro Oligothiophenes“ Org. Lett. 2010, 12, 3230 – 3233.

A. Rajca, J. Wongsriratanakul, S. Rajca, “Magnetic Ordering in an Organic Polymer.” Science 2001, 294, 1503 – 1505.

A. Rajca, "Organic Di‑ and Polyradicals.  From Spin Coupling to Magnetism?"  Chem. Rev. 1994, 94, 871 – 893.

 

Recent Graduates

  • Kausik Das PhD 2007 Streck Laboratories, Omaha, Nebraska
  • Sumit Mukherjee PhD 2006 University of Wisconsin-Madison