ALT Abstract We use the selective incorporation of nitrogen into the sp²-carbon-based polycyclic scaffolds to efficiently modulate their optoelectronic and materials properties. In the resulting systems, the nitrogen readily adopts a planar sp²-hybridized geometry to provide for efficient electronic communication of its lone pair with the surrounding π-system. Moreover, the nitrogen can be reversibly oxidized to the corresponding radical cation with superior stability due to efficient delocalization of spin and charge throughout the π-conjugated framework. This approach yields a wide variety of nitrogen-doped polycyclic scaffolds with exciting properties that are of interest both as valuable objects for fundamental studies and as functional materials for diverse applications.

ALT An photo of the golden door, part of the CSMB research building