David I. Schuster Professor of Chemistry B.A., Columbia University; Ph.D., California Institute of Technology; Postdoctoral Fellow, University of Wisconsin Email: david.schuster@nyu.edu Phone:  212-998-8447 Personal Homepage:  http://www.nyu.edu/projects/schuster/people/schuster/schuster.htm Lab Homepage:  http://www.nyu.edu/projects/schuster

Areas of Research/Interest: Synthesis of new types of fullerene derivatives; synthesis of porphyrin-fullerene dyads with flexible and rigid linkers; photoadditions to C60 and C70; photophysical studies of porphyrin-fullerene dyads; topological control of electron transfer and energy transfer in porphyrin-fullerene dyads; sensitization of singlet oxygen formation by fullerenes; fullerene derivatives as inhibitors of HIV-protease and in photodynamic therapy

Research Description: Current research in the Schuster lab at NYU centers on the synthesis of nanoscale electron donor-acceptor systems with potential applications in solar energy storage devices, in which porphyrin and C60 moieties are covalently or mechanically linked, as in rotaxanes and catenanes. Study of their electrochemical and photophysical properties is carried out with outside collaborators. Photoexcitation of these materials in polar organic solvents results in extremely fast electron transfer on the subnanosecond time scale to yield relatively long-lived charge separated radical ion pair (CSRP) states. CSRP lifetimes of microseconds have been achieved, and even longer lifetimes are anticipated for systems currently under study. Other work involves synthesis of fullerene derivatives which are expected to act as inhibitors of HIV protease.Since Professor Schuster no longer accepts doctoral students, work is currently carried out by undergraduate research students and postdoctoral fellows.

Select Publications:

Schuster, D. I.; Li, K.; Guldi, D. M.; Palker, A.; Echegoyen, L.; Stanisky, C.; Cross, R. J.; Isossomppi, M.; Lemmetyinen, H.  “Azobenzene-Linked Porphyrin Fullerene Dyads”, J. Am. Chem. Soc. 2007, 129, 15973-15962.

Megiatto, J. D., Jr.; Schuster, D. I. “General Method for Synthesis of Functionalized Macrocycles and Catenanes Using “Click” Chemistry, J. Am. Chem. Soc. 2008, 130, 12872-12873.

Fazio, M. A.; Lee, O. P.; Schuster, D. I. “First Triazole-Linked Porphyrin-Fullerene Dyads”, Org. Lett. 2008, 21, 4979-4982.

Jakob, M.; Berg, A.; Rubin, R.; Levanon, H.; Li, K.; Schuster, D. I. “Photoinduced Electron Transfer in Porphyrin- and Fullerene/Porphyrin-Based Rotaxanes as Studied by Time-Resolved EPR Spectroscopy”, J. Phys. Chem. A 2009, 113, 5846-5854.

Megiatto, J. D., Jr.; Schuster, D. I. “’Click’ Methodology for synthesis of Functionalized [3]Catenanes: Toward Higher Interlocked Structures”, Chem. Eur. J. 2009, 15, 5444-5448.

Schuster, D. I.; Megiatto, J. D., Jr. “Nanotubes reveal all in solution”, Nature Chem. 2009, 1, 182-183.

Fazio, M. A.; Durandin, A.; Tkachenko, N. V.; Niemi, M.; Lemmetyinen, H.; Schuster, D. I.  “Synthesis, Conformational Interconversion and Photophysics of Tethered Porphyrin-Fullerene Dyads with Parachute Topology”, Chem Eur. J. 2009, 16, 7698-7705.

Megiatto, J. D, Jr.; Spencer, R.; Schuster, D. I. “Efficient One-Pot Synthesis of Rotaxanes Bearing Electron Donors and [60]Fullerene”, Org. Lett. 2009, 11, 4152-4155.

Megiatto, J. D., Jr.; Schuster, D. I. “Introduction of Useful Peripheral Functional Groups on [2]Catenanes by Combining Cu(I)-Template Synthesis with “Click” Chemistry”, New J. Chem. 2009, in press.

Fellowships/Honors: National Science Foundation Predoctoral Fellowships, 1956-60; Alfred P. Sloan Research Fellowship, 1967-69; National Science Foundation Science Faculty Fellowship, 1975-76; Elected Fellow of American Association for the Advancement of Science, 1992; Golden Dozen Awards for Teaching, NYU College of Arts and Science, 1993 and 1998; Elected Fellow of the Inter-American Photochemical Society for Lifetime Achievement in the Photochemical Sciences, 2005.