David Waldeck
The Chiral-Induced Spin Selectivity Effect
Waldeck’s group is examining the nature of the Chiral-Induced Spin Selectivity (CISS) effect and exploring ways in which it can be exploited technologically. As electrons move through a chiral molecule (or structure) the electron current generates an effective magnetic field, 
, that acts on the electrons’ intrinsic magnetic moment. Thus, a preference exists for electrons with one magnetic moment direction to pass through the chiral molecule (or structure). A thorough understanding of the properties that affect the chiral induced spin selectivity effect is important for realizing its true potential.
The chiral induced spin selectivity effect can be exploited for facilitating chemical reactions. We demonstrated that chiral materials are accompanied by a spin polarization that can be used to discriminate between triplet and singlet reaction pathways. Additionally, these studies are guiding the development of new methods for enantiomeric separation and discrimination.
Chiral nanomaterials represent a new class of materials with promising properties for applications in the fields of optoelectronics and spintronics, amongst others. This part of our group is focused on the synthesis of new chiral nanomaterials and understanding mechanistically how the chirality manifests. These studies are pointing to structure – property relationships for the rational design of new chiral materials. We are studying spin-mediated processes of chiral materials and the tantalizing phenomena that manifest. Our work is leading to technological breakthroughs in the separation of enantiomers, the miniaturization of ferromagnets, and chiral oxide spin filters.
Name | Position | |
|---|---|---|
| Albro, Joe | Graduate Student | jaa177@pitt.edu |
| Bloom, Brian | Postdoctoral Fellow | bpb8@pitt.edu |
| Clever, Caleb | Graduate Student | cbc48@pitt.edu |
| Georgieva, Zheni | Graduate Student | zng2@pitt.edu |
| Lu, Yiyang | Graduate Student | yil212@pitt.edu |
| Rivas, Jose | Graduate Student | jerr225@pitt.edu |
| Tabassum, Nazifa | Graduate Student | nat73@pitt.edu |
| V, Aravind | Graduate Student | arv47@pitt.edu |
| Wei, Simon | Graduate Student | jiw105@pitt.edu |
Joe Albro
Graduate Student
jaa177@pitt.edu
3941 O'Hara Street, Pittsburgh PA, 15260, Pittsburgh PA, 15260
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PhysicsUniversity of Pittsburgh
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ChemistryUniversity of Pittsburgh
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ChemistryUniversity of Pittsburgh
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ChemistryUniversity of Pittsburgh
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ChemistryUniversity of Pittsburgh
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ChemistryUniversity of Pittsburgh
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ChemistryUniversity of Pittsburgh
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Chemical EngineeringUniversity of Pittsburgh
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ChemistryUniversity of Pittsburgh
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ChemistryUniversity of Pittsburgh
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ChemistryUniversity of Pittsburgh
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ChemistryUniversity of Pittsburgh
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Emil Wierzbinski
Graduate Student
G-10 Chevron Science Center, Pittsburgh PA, 15213
Affiliation:
ChemistryUniversity of Pittsburgh
Websites:
- "Photoisomerization dynamics of stilbenes." David H Waldeck. Chemical Reviews.
- "Noncovalent engineering of carbon nanotube surfaces by rigid, functional conjugated polymers." Jian Chen, Haiying Liu, Wayne A Weimer, Mathew D Halls, David H Waldeck, Gilbert C Walker. Journal of the American Chemical Society.
- "Breakdown of Kramers theory description of photochemical isomerization and the possible involvement of frequency dependent friction." Stephan P Velsko, David H Waldeck, Graham R Fleming. The Journal of Chemical Physics.
- "Spintronics and chirality: Spin selectivity in electron transport through chiral molecules." Ron Naaman and David H. Waldeck. Annu. Rev. Phys. Chem 66 (2015), 263-281.
- "Chiral-induced spin selectivity effect." Ron Naaman and David H. Waldeck, The Journal of Physical Chemistry Letters 3 (2012), 2178-2187.
- "Chiral Induced Spin Selectivity and Its Implications for Biological Functions" Ron Naaman, Yossi Paltiel, and David H. Waldeck. Ann. Rev. Biphysics. 51 (2022)99-114.
- "Enantiospecificity of Cysteine Adsorption on a Ferromagnetic Surface: Is It Kinetically or Thermodynamically Controlled?" Yiyang Lu, Brian P. Bloom, Shangyu Qian, David H. Waldeck. J. Phys. Chem. Letters 12 (2021) 7854-7858.
- "Delocalization-assisted transport through nucleic acids in molecular junctions" Jesus Baldiviezo, Caleb Clever, Edward Beall, Alexander Pearse, Yookyung Bae, Peng Zhang, Catalina Achim, David N. Beratan, and David H. Waldeck. Biochemistry 60 (2021) 1368-1378.
- "The spin selectivity effect in chiral materials" David H. Waldeck, Ron Naaman, Yossi Paltiel APL Materials 9 (2021) 040902.
- "Increasing the Efficiency of Water Splitting through Spin Polarization using Cobalt Oxide Thin Film Catalysts." Supriya Ghosh, Brian P. Bloom, Yiyang Lu, Daniel Lamont, and David H. Waldeck. J. Phys. Chem. C 124 (2020) 22610-22618.
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Vincent Sokalski received his B.S. from the University of Pittsburgh and his M.S. and Ph.D from Carnegie Mellon University (CMU) both in Materials Science and Engineering. Following his graduate work, he spent two years as a postdoctoral fellow in the Electrical and Computer Engineering Department, still at CMU, and finally joined the faculty at Carnegie Mellon University in 2013.
Brian D’Urso received his Ph.D. in Physics in 2003 from Harvard University, where his work contributed to a new measurement of the electron g-factor, which currently provides the most accurate measurement of the fine structure constant. He then went to Oak Ridge National Laboratory as a Wigner Fellow and remained as a member of the ORNL Research then Senior Research Staff until 2008, where he led a team in developing nanostructured materials and novel fabrication techniques. In 2009, he joined the University of Pittsburgh as an Assistant Professor of Physics while remaining a joint faculty member at ORNL. Currently, he is working as a assistant professor in Montana State University.
Peyman Givi received his B.E. in Mechanical Engineering from Youngstown State University, then his M.E. and Ph.D. in Mechanical Engineering from Carnegie-Mellon University. Before joining the University of Pittsburgh, he held the rank of University Distinguished Professor in Aerospace Engineering at the State University of New York at Buffalo. He is amongst the first 15 engineering faculty nationwide who received the White House Presidential Faculty Fellowship from President George Bush. He also received the Young Investigator Award of the Office of Naval Research and the Presidential Young Investigator Award of the National Science Foundation among others.