Josh Vura-Weis

Joint student of Profs. Mike Wasielewski and Mark Ratner

vura-weis@northwestern.edu

Synthetic, Spectroscopic, and Computational Investigation of Charge Transfer Through π Stacks

I am interested in charge transfer through π stacks because of its relevance to organic photovoltaic devices and thin-film transistors. In a self-assembled OPV or TFT, electrons and holes must hop from molecule to molecule, ideally through well-defined pi stacks:

I also collaborate with the Lewis group to study hole transfer through DNA (refs 2-4,7 below). Lewis group members synthesize DNA strands with donor and acceptor molecules on each end, and I do FSTA to determine the rates of charge transfer through the stack.

Finally, I am part of the Small-Angle X-Ray Scattering (SAXS) team, which goes to the Advanced Photon Source at Argonne National Lab and uses their synchrotron radiation to determine the structure of self-assembled aggregates in solution.

Publications

9. Efficient Charge Transport in DNA Diblock Oligomers
   Vura-Weis, J.; Wasielewski, M.R.; Thazhathveetil, A.K.; Lewis, F.D.;
   J. Am. Chem. Soc.; (Article); ASAP;
   DOI: 10.1021/ja9015217
   
   
   
   
8. Hydrophobic Dimerization and Thermal Dissociation of Perylenediimide-Linked DNA Hairpins
   Hariharan, M.; Zheng, Y.; Long, H.; Zeidan, T.; Schatz, G.C.; Vura-Weis, J.; Wasielewski, M.; Zuo, X.; Tiede, D.; Lewis, F.D.
   J. Am. Chem. Soc.; (Article); ASAP;
   DOI: 10.1021/ja900347t
   
   
   
   
7. Photoinduced Charge Separation in Pyrenedicarboxamide-Linked DNA Hairpins
   Daublain, P.; Siegmund, K.; Hariharan, M.; Vura-Weis, J.; Wasielewski, M.R., Lewis, F.D.; Shafirovich, V.; Wang, Q.; Raytchev, M.; and Fiebig, T.
   Photochem. Photobio. Sci.; 2008; 7; 1501-1508. DOI: 10.1039/b813995d
   
   
   
   
6. Structure-Property Relationship for Two-Photon Absorbing Multiporphyrins: Supramolecular Assembly of Highly-Conjugated Multiporphyrinic Ladders and Prisms
   Easwaramoorthi, S.; Jang, S. Y.; Yoon, Z. S.; Lim, J. M.; Lee, C.-W.; Mai, C.-L.; Liu, Y.-C.; Yeh, C.-Y.; Vura-Weis, J.; Wasielewski, M. R.; Kim, D.
   J. Phys. Chem. A; (Article); 2008; 112(29); 6563-6570. DOI: 10.1021/jp801626s
   
   
   
   
5. Unexpectedly Similar Charge Transfer Rates Through Benzo-annulated Bicyclo[2.2.2]octanes
   Goldsmith, R. H.; Vura-Weis, J.; Vega, A.; Sen, A.; Borkar, S.; Ratner, M. A., Wasielewski, M. R.
   J. Am. Chem. Soc.; (Article); 2008; 130(24); 7659-7669. DOI:10.1021/ja8004623
   
   
   
   
4. The Influence of Guanine on DNA Hole Transport Efficiency
   Lewis, F.D.; Daublain, P.; Cohen, B.; Vura-Weis, J.; Wasielewski, M. R.
   Angew. Chemie. Int. Ed.; (Communication) 2008; 47(20); 3798-3800. DOI:10.1002/anie.200705903
   
   
   
   
3. Reversible Bridge-Mediated Excited-State Symmetry Breaking in Stilbene-Linked DNA Dumbbells
   Lewis, F. D.; Daublain, P.; Zhang, L.; Cohen, B.; Vura-Weis, J.; Wasielewski, M. R.; Shafirovich, V.; Wang, Q.; Raytchev, M.; Fiebig, T.
   J. Phys. Chem. B.; (Article); 2008; 112(12); 3838-3843. DOI: 10.1021/jp710718p
   
   
   
   
2. Dynamics and Efficiency of DNA Hole Transport via Alternating AT versus Poly(A) Sequences
   Lewis, F. D.; Daublain, P.; Cohen, B.; Vura-Weis, J.; Shafirovich, V.; Wasielewski, M. R.
   J. Am. Chem. Soc.; (Communication); 2007; 129(49); 15130-15131. DOI: 10.1021/ja076876o
   
   
   
   
1. Spectroscopic and DFT Investigation of [M{HB(3,5-ⁱPr₂pz)₃}(SC₆F₅)] (M = Mn, Fe, Co, Ni, Cu, and Zn) Model Complexes: Periodic Trends in Metal-Thiolate Bonding
   Gorelsky, S. I.; Basumallick, L.; Vura-Weis, J.; Sarangi, R.; Hodgson, K. O.; Hedman, B.; Fujisawa, K.; Solomon, E. I.
   Inorg. Chem.; (Article); 2005; 44(14); 4947-4960. DOI: 10.1021/ic050371m