Inorganic Photochemistry, Excited State Processes, Control of Charge Separation and Recombination, Solar Energy Conversion
The Turro group is interested in understanding and utilizing transition metal complexes in photochemical reactions. The potential applications of these photochemical reactions span from photodynamic therapy (PDT) and photoactivated chemical therapies (PACT) for the treatment of tumors, luminescent reporters and sensors, to solar energy conversion. In order to improve and expand their reactivity, the fundamental understanding of the excited states of mononuclear and dinuclear metal-metal bonded transition metal complexes is necessary and remains an important subject of investigation (National Science Foundation).
Transition metal complexes that are nontoxic in the dark and become highly toxic upon irradiation with visible or near-IR light are ideal for PDT. Complexes that undergo efficient photoinduced ligand dissociation are under investigation, as well as complexes that can also
exhibit dual-reactivity by simultaneously delivering small molecule drugs or enzyme inhibitors.
The work in the Turro group continues to address long-range charge transport as well, along with the chemical control of charge separation and charge recombination. Understanding and controlling these processes is vital for efficient solar energy conversion, with the ultimate goal being a single-component photocatalytic systems that requires only one species to both harvest photons and perform catalytic transformations (Department of Energy). For more details on the current projects within the group, please visit our Current Members and Projects page.