Abstract
The Thesis begins with an introduction of molecular logic gates and switches induced by various stimuli in chapter 1.Then a population analysis is presented in chapter 2 for polymer beads which are tagged with multi-valued logic gates, YES, (2YES + PASS 1), (YES + PASS 1), (YES + 2PASS 1) and PASS 1 with H+ input, 700 nm near-infrared fluorescence output and 615 nm red light excitation. The gates carry an azaBODIPY (azaborodipyrromethene) fluorophore and an aliphatic tertiary amine as the H+ receptor where necessary. The H+-induced fluorescence enhancement factors are signatures which identify a given bead type within a mixed population when examined with a fluorescence microscope. Therefore, molecular computational identification (MCID) succeeds in encoding objects which are too small for radiofrequency identification (RFID) tagging.
PolypyridylRu(II) complexes, which have inspired many research fields and applications, are shown in chapter 3 to be inclusively bound in water with submicromolar affinities by a new class of anionic triangular cyclophanes. The shapes of these macrocycles can be switched by redox agents to release their cargo. The intermediate state of perching complexation is also demonstrated. Such switchable second-sphere complexation opens the way to hide or expose the functions of polypyridylRu(II) complexes under arbitrary control.
The overall conclusions of this research in the context of the fields of molecular logic and switches are given in chapter 4, along with some suggestions for future work. Chapter 5 contains detailed experimental procedures.
| Date of Award | Jul 2020 |
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| Original language | English |
| Awarding Institution |
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| Sponsors | Queen's University & China Scholarship Council |
| Supervisor | Amilra De Silva (Supervisor) & Peijun Hu (Supervisor) |