Establishing Topology and Redox-Programmed Conjugation as Orthogonal Design Axes Governing Electronic and Mixed Conduction in Azaacene Polymers

Prof. Nagarjuna Gavvalapalli of Georgetown University aims to develop innovative semiconducting polymer materials for future microelectronics, sensing, and energy technologies. Modern electronic materials increasingly require the coordinated movement of electrical charges and ions, yet scientists lack fundamental design rules that allow these processes to be precisely controlled. This project aims to address this challenge by creating a new class of semiconducting polymers and establishing the molecular principles that govern their electronic and electrochemical behavior. The resulting knowledge will support the development of next-generation organic electronic materials for transistors, sensors, bioelectronics, and energy-storage technologies, aligning with NSF priorities in Semiconductors and Microelectronics. The project will provide interdisciplinary research opportunities for high school, undergraduate, graduate, and postdoctoral researchers, helping advance the next-generation STEM workforce. Through partnerships with local schools, the project will engage K–12 students in hands-on science activities and broaden participation in STEM. This project will synthesize and study azaacene based semiconducting polymers whose molecular structures can be systematically tailored to explore topology and redox-programmed conjugation as design principles governing charge transport, energy storage, and ion accessibility. By combining molecular design, spectroscopy, electrochemistry, and electronic device measurements, the research will uncover how these molecular features collectively influence electronic and electrochemical behavior in advanced polymer materials. The project will determine how variations in polymer structure affect electronic and mixed conduction, conductivity, charge-storage capacity, and device operation across conditions relevant to future electronic technologies. These studies will establish fundamental design rules connecting molecular design to material performance and provide new insights into the mechanisms governing charge and ion transport in soft electronic materials. The resulting knowledge will enable the rational design of high-performance organic semiconductors for microelectronics and emerging electronic technologies. 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.