SPIROS SKOURTIS - Energy-level and electronic-coupling fluctuation control of molecular and biomolecular charge transfer reactions

• Coloquios

:: Jueves 4/8/2016, 2pm en Aula Seminario, 2do piso, Pabellón I.  

          Spiros Skourtis (University of Cyprus)

           Energy-level and electronic-coupling fluctuation control of molecular and biomolecular charge transfer reactions

Molecular electron transfer processes are ubiquitous in biology and chemistry and are central to the molecular electronics and energy materials technologies. Biomolecular electron transfer mechanisms are particularly interesting due to the variety of biomolecular structures that perform electron transport and the extensive structural fluctuations of biological macromolecules. These characteristics imply that biomolecular electron transfer mechanisms are varied, ranging from fully coherent deep tunnelling to incoherent thermally-activated hopping. I first give a brief review of central concepts and key questions in the theory of molecular and biomolecular electron transfer rates. Then, I focus on the roles of molecular structure motions in determining electron transfer mechanism via electronic energy level and electronic coupling fluctuations, describing some recent advances in the field.