Gillmore Research Group

Students have the opportunity to join a thriving externally funded organic photochemistry research group at Hope College, with a primary focus on incorporating undergraduate students into all aspects of the research endeavor.

Student Researchers Wanted

The Gillmore Group has three main thrusts. Researchers for each of these will be considered in the following order of priority, with start dates possible in September, November, January, and March, as well as for summer research in May.

First, new projects in organic synthesis and photochemistry are available to those who are taking or have completed CHEM 255, Organic I lab.

Second, an analytical project using HPLC and the department’s new LC/MS/MS to examine the pigments in avian retinas in collaboration with Dr. Ronald in Biology is also available. Here the minimum expectation is a year of GenChem (CHEM 125+126 or 131) completed or in progress, or equivalent (e.g., AP or IB) credit, with at least one Chemistry or Biology lab taken at Hope. One or two semesters of Biology and/or a semester of Analytical Chemistry is also advantageous for students on this project.

Third, a computational project is available to well-organized students with good MS Excel or Google Sheets skills and at least GenChem I experience (AP Chem, CHEM 125 or 131).

Alternatively, a student with some Linux/Unix command line experience and perhaps a bit of coding/programming would be accepted even without any chemistry.
Students can start (or continue from prior years) in early September, or begin mid-year in November or in early January, while others start with CHEM 256B projects at mid-term of second semester in late February or early march.

There is an expectation to begin research no later than March to continue the research for 8–10 weeks in summer. Preferably, students will also continue research through the subsequent academic year (and perhaps even the following summer as well!).

Academic year research is available for credit, on a volunteer basis, or possibly as Federal Work-Study if applicable, for about 5–6 hours/week. Summer research is paid, for 40 hours/week, at $520+/week.

Please email to set up a meeting with Professor Gillmore to discuss opportunities in the Gillmore Group ASAP!

Organic Photochemistry For Materials Applications — Teaching Old Photochromes New Tricks

Student collaborators on this primary project in the Gillmore Group gain familiarity
with organic synthesis, purification, characterization by NMR and MS, photochemistry,
and UV/Vis/NIR spectroscopy. Together, we develop syntheses of novel organic
photochromes which we apply to a range of different applications based on more than
just their changing colors. Depending on the application, students may also study
electrochemistry, reactive (radical and ion radical) intermediates, polymers and/or
materials research.
Photochromic organic molecules are compounds that undergo a reversible
photochemical rearrangement from a short wavelength (SW) form to a long wavelength
(LW) form, with reversion occurring thermally, photochemically or both. The vast
majority of organic photochromes have been investigated for applications in ophthalmic
lenses (e.g., Transitions® lenses), novelty items or data storage applications all related
to their color change. Studies of the spectral changes, molar absorptivity, reversibility
and fatigue resistance predominate. Exploration of other dynamic properties of
photochromic compounds has been far more limited. In the Gillmore Research Group at
Hope College, we attempt to make use of the changes in shape and electronics that
accompany the color change of a photochrome.
We spent about 15 years focusing primarily on photochromes from the
perimidinespirocyclohexadienone family, and new projects in this area may soon be
available again. These were prepared and studied as potential "photochromic
photooxidants", where the electronic changes between SW and LW affect the ability of
these dyes to initiate electron transfer reactions. This can add an additional level of
gating, or control, to photoinduced electron transfer processes that can be applicable to
either microfabrication or photoresponsive plastics for data storage or optical
waveguiding applications.
More recently the #JGGgrp has also investigating a unique family of BF 2 -coordinated
azo dyes, primarily for their change in shape, rather than color. These dyes absorb at
significantly longer wavelengths than conventional azo dyes. In this still nascent project,
the Gillmore group is working to better understand synthetic strategies and limitations,
and the effect of substituents beyond the lone phenyl position where these dyes
discoverers’ first tuned them.
We hope to install synthetic handles on these BF 2 -coordinated azo dyes, so that, together with the group of Professor Matthew Smith in the Hope College Department of
Engineering, we might one day incorporate them into polymeric materials. In polymer
networks, if properly ordered, it is possible to couple the molecular shape change of an
azo dye to bulk shape change of the material. These are known as photomechanical
materials (PMMs), which expand, contract, or bend in response to light. PMMs have applicability to a variety of wireless actuators. Moving from the UV to blue-green
absorbance of conventional azo dyes to the red or even near-infrared absorbance of
these BF 2 -coordinated azo dyes will make PMMs more relevant to biological applications
while decreasing competitive absorption by other device components and minimizing
photodegradation of materials.
Finally, the Gillmore group also applies computational modeling to help us understand
the systems we study. For instance, we have developed methods to allow accurate and
efficient prediction of redox properties relevant not only to our photochromic
photooxidants project, but also to the energy storage projects of collaborators at the
MSU Bioeconomy Institute's Organic Energy storage lab. Computations also help us
understand chemical reactivity, evaluate mechanisms, and predict spectroscopic
properties of our dyes.
All students in the Gillmore Group must receive departmental safety training as well as
group-specific safety training at least annually, and agree to abide by the Gillmore
Group Laboratory Working Agreement.