MPS-Ascend: Rigid Oxo Ligands to Control the Next Generation of f-Element Molecular Spin Centers

This award is funded in whole or in part under the American Rescue Plan Act of 2021 (Public Law 117-2). Mikaela Pyrch is awarded a NSF Mathematical and Physical Sciences Ascending Postdoctoral Research Fellowship (NSF MPS-Ascend) to conduct a program of research and activities related to broaden participation by groups underrepresented in STEM. This fellowship to Dr.

Pyrch supports the research project entitled MPS-Ascend: "Rigid Oxo Ligands to Control the Next Generation of f-Element Molecular Spin Centers.", under the mentorship of a sponsoring scientist. The host institution for the fellowship is the University of California Berkeley, and the sponsoring scientist is Dr. Polly Arnold.

The proposed work intends to determine how the identity of rigid, oxygen donating, axial ligands influence the electronic, magnetic, and optical properties of the Er(III) cation through stabilization of ground levels. Objectives of the work include identification of rigid, highly symmetric, axial ligands to stabilize the lowest spin orbital coupled state using linear actinyl cations as oxygen donor ligands; assessment of the impact of the coordination environment on magnetic properties within Er complexes; and to evaluate the role of the coordination environment on the optical properties of the Er center.

Successful implementation of the work will increase the understanding of spin-phonon and spin-spin relaxation processes in prolate lathanides. Implementation of this work will provide the opportunity to work with historically excluded minority groups at the grade school level. Projects such as crystal growth will provide hands-on introduction to synthetic chemistry which will promote critical thinking and connect observations to chemistry fundamentals.

These activities have the potential to provide a foundation for students to develop into future scientists.

This award reflects NSF's statutory mission and has been deemed worthy of support through evaluation using the Foundation's intellectual merit and broader impacts review criteria.