Dr. Chunming Liu, assistant professor with joint appointments in The University of Akron (UA) School of Polymer Science and Polymer Engineering and the Buchtel College of Arts and Sciences Department of Chemistry, has received a $554,000 National Institutes of Health (NIH) Research Enhancement Award (R15) to advance the fundamental understanding of photocatalytic processes used in the synthesis of drugs and other bioactive compounds.

The three-year award will support Liu’s research project, “Imaging Single Photocatalytic Turnovers in Photoredox Catalysis for Efficient Drug Synthesis.” Using light to drive chemical reactions is becoming increasingly important in the pharmaceutical industry, where it can be used to synthesize drugs and other bioactive compounds. This approach, known as visible-light photoredox catalysis, gives researchers new ways to build complex molecules. Despite its growing importance, the fundamental mechanisms and kinetics of the individual steps that make up the photocatalytic cycle remain incompletely understood.

Liu’s research aims to directly visualize these elementary steps by monitoring the photoluminescence of individual photoredox catalysts in real time. By observing photocatalytic processes at the single-molecule level, his team hopes to gain new insight into how these reactions occur and identify factors that influence their efficiency.

“We want to understand what actually happens during each individual photocatalytic turnover,” Liu said. “By directly observing the behavior of single photocatalysts in real time, we can begin to uncover the fundamental mechanisms that control these reactions. This knowledge could help us develop more efficient photocatalytic systems for chemical synthesis.”

By revealing what happens during these reactions at the molecular level, Liu’s findings could help researchers better understand how to use light to make chemical reactions work more efficiently. This knowledge could help improve the processes used to make drugs and other useful chemicals, potentially leading to higher yields and less wasted material.

“This award is a significant achievement for Dr. Liu and a testament to the innovative research taking place at The University of Akron,” said Dr. Mesfin Tsige, director of the School of Polymer Science and Polymer Engineering. “His work brings together advanced analytical techniques and fundamental chemistry to address an important challenge in photocatalysis. Research such as this demonstrates the strength and breadth of the scientific work being conducted by our faculty and the opportunities we have to make meaningful contributions to the field.”

About Chunming Liu

Liu is an assistant professor jointly appointed in the School of Polymer Science and Polymer Engineering and Department of Chemistry at UA. His research focuses on developing advanced analytical approaches to study chemistry and materials at the single-molecule level, with an emphasis on understanding fundamental chemical processes through direct observation. He earned his Ph.D. from Texas A&M University and completed his postdoctoral training at Cornell University.