Demas, James N.
Primary Appointment
Professor, Chemistry
Contact Information
Room 144, Chemistry Building
Telephone: (434) 924-3343
Email: jnd@virginia.edu
Website: http://chem.virginia.edu/faculty-research/faculty/james-n-demas/
Research Interests
Photochemistry and Photophysics of Transition Metal Complexes
Research Description
Photochemistry and Photophysics of Transition Metal Complexes
Molecules excited by light lose energy by emission of light, transfer of energy or an electron to other molecules, photochemistry, and non-destructive radiationless processes. Solar energy conversion, chemical analysis, and light intensity measurements require information from the study of these processes. The processes can be highly sensitive to environmental factors such as solvent and interactions with organized media such as micelles, cyclodextrins, membranes, proteins, and DNAs. In addition, luminescence properties are very sensitive to the environment in polymer-supported sensors. We are elucidating the nature of these processes, correlating properties with molecular structure and environment, and developing new chemical, instrumental, and mathematical tools for studying these processes.