Carbon: Graphyne created
through organic chemistry
Continued from page 1A
using a chemical called acetylene, pro
ducing a specific variety of graphyne
known as graphdiyne.
The large network is only five to six
nanometers (five to six billionths of a
meter) in diameter, but previously Ha
ley’s lab only created molecules one to
two nanometers wide.
“1 think that these substructures of
carbon are probably the largest car
bon-rich structures of that type that
have been made,” said Marsden,
who has since earned his doctorate
and has taken a job at Organic
Consultants in Eugene.
Marsden said the process
of synthesizing the molecule
involved more than 20 separate
steps, many of which involved us
ing a metal called palladium to
speed up reactions.
When a beam of light is zapped
through a soda can or most any oth
er solid item, the light will emerge
on the other side in a straight line.
Graphyne is unique in that, depend
ing on the strength of the light, a
light beam can pass through it and
bend at an angle on its way out. Ul
timately this work could be used in
optical communications networks,
which operate one million times
faster than conventional electricity,
Haley said.
Marsden said that because the
carbon structures are about as large
as they can possibly get, the next
steps will focus on adding different
types of molecules to the graphyne
molecules to produce different
optical properties.
Haley also said graphyne could
possibly be combined with lithium
to improve batteries.
The existence and properties
of graphyne were first predicted
by computational chemists in 1987,
Haley said. Another synthetic form of
carbon, buckminsterfullerene (com
monly known as buckyball), was
also predicted before it was created.
“The nice thing about organic op
tical materials is that with organic
chemistry, it is much easier to
change or tune properties that you
desire for a molecule,” Haley said.
The difference between organic
chemistry and inorganic chemistry
is that organic chemistry works only
with substances that contain car
bon. This is not limiting for organic
chemists because, when combined
with other elements, carbon is
present in every living creature.
“The organic chemist’s toolbox has
a lot more tools in it than somebody
that’s doing inorganic chemistry,”
Haley said.
The research was funded by a
grant from the National Science
Foundation.
Contact the business, science
and technology reporter at
esylwester@dailyemerald. com
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