QnAs with Abraham Nitzan

Abstract

Biology involves many reactions of oxidation and reduction that move electrons from one site to another in electron-transfer steps. At a fundamental level, organisms use electron transfer to shuttle energy. Photosynthesis, corrosion, and electronic devices operate through basic electron-transfer processes. Abraham Nitzan, a chemist at the University of Pennsylvania and a recently elected member of the National Academy of Sciences, studies electron transfer along with other chemical dynamics processes in an effort to understand how atoms interact during chemical reactions. Thanks to advances in nanoscale research, Nitzan and colleague Galen Craven have investigated electron transfer between sites of different temperatures, and found that electron transfer and heat transfer are coupled processes. Nitzan recently spoke to PNAS about his findings. Abraham Nitzan. Image courtesy of Abraham Nitzan. > PNAS:Why are you interested in electron-transfer processes? > Nitzan:Electron-transfer processes are at the core of all oxidation-reduction (redox) reactions, including electrochemistry and corrosion reactions. Photoelectrochemistry, solar energy conversion, organic light-emitting diodes, and molecular electronic devices are presently subjects of intensive research at the interface of science and technology and are all dominated by electron transfer and electron transmission in molecular systems. Similarly, electron-transfer processes constitute fundamental steps …