Sun Sun


Department of Chemistry & Biochemistry
The University of Texas at Austin
1 University Station A5300
Austin, TX 78712-0165





















Contact Information


Office: NST: 1.206
Phone: 471-2053

Lab


Office: NST 1.200
Phone: 232-3694
Fax: 471-3389

Paul F. Barbara


p.barbara@mail.utexas.edu
Professor, Faculty
Director, Center for Nano- and Molecular Science and Technology
Richard J. V. Johnson-Welch Regents Chair

Research Group


Barbara Group

Education


BA, Hofstra University, 1974
PhD, Brown University, 1978

Awards


Member, National Academy of Sciences, 2006

Affiliations


Center for Nano- and Molecular Science and Technology; IGERT: Optical Biomedical Engineering; Texas Materials Institute;

Analytical, Materials, and Physical Chemistry


The primary focus in our research is the use of single molecule spectroscopy to investigate the chemical and photophysical dynamics of important chemical and biological systems that are too complex to adequately investigate by non-single molecule spectroscopy methods. The complex chemical and physical processes of heterogeneous systems are often obscured in ordinary ensemble measurements. These processes, however, have become accessible in recent years through the development and application of single-molecule (single-particle) experimental tools for materials and biological research.

For example by investigating the spectroscopy of conjugated polymers, one molecule at a time, we have unraveled several central issues in how conjugated polymers materials function in critical applications such as organic light emitting displays (OLEDS) and photovoltaic devices for solar energy conversion. We have also used these techniques to study poorly understood, but very important biological processes, for example the reverse transcription mechanisms of the HIV-1, the infectious agent in AIDS. We plan to continue to develop and apply new single molecule tools to important problems in chemistry, materials science and biophysics.



Representative Publications



Hui Wang, Yu-Shan Yeh, and Paul F. Barbara "he HIV-1 Nucleocapsid Protein Bends Double-Stranded Nucleic Acids" J. Am. Chem. Soc. (2009): .

Joshua C. Bolinger, Leonid Fradkin, Kwang-Jik Lee, Rodrigo E. Palacios, and Paul F. Barbara "Light-assisted deep-trapping of holes in conjugated polymers" Proc. Nat. Acad. Sci. 105 (2009): 1342.

Ya-Lan Chang, Rodrigo E. Palacios, Juin-Tai Chen, Keith J. Stevenson, Song Guo, William M. Lackowski, and Paul. F. Barbara "Electrogenerated Chemiluminescence of Soliton Waves in Conjugated Polymers" J. Am. Chem. Soc. (2009): .

Rodrigo E. Palacios, Kwang-Jik Lee, Arnaud Rival, Takuji Adachi, Joshua C. Bolinger, Leonid Fradkin, and Paul F. Barbara "Single conjugated polymer nanoparticle capacitors" Chem Phys 357 (2009): 21.

Ya-Lan Chang, Rodrigo E. Palacios, Fu-Ren F. Fan, Allen J. Bard, and Paul F. Barbara "Electrogenerated chemiluminescence of single conjugated polymer nanoparticles" J. Am. Chem. Soc. 130 (2008): 8906.