The OpiEM3 (Organic pi-Electron Molecules and Materials Meetings) series of research meetings started in June 2020 from an idea hatched by a group of like-minded chemists on a Zoom “happy hour” in the age of Covid-19.  Growing tired of the same intra-institutional group meetings and seminars, these participants thought it would be fun and educational to form a loosely affiliated collection of research groups with similar research interests in pi-electronic molecules and materials and have graduate students and postdocs present their results/findings to other researchers outside their home institution, much like would happen at national and international conferences and meetings. What started as a loose collection of 10 research groups in the US and Canada grew to 40+ research groups in the US, Canada, Mexico, England, Germany, Poland, Spain, and Switzerland.  These meetings were designed to expand the knowledge breadth of PIs and graduate students/postdocs alike. With the return of in-person conferences in 2022, the OpiEM3 series concluded November 2021.

Prior OpiEM3 Meetings

June 3, 2020
  1. Nayanthara Asok (Baumgartner group, York U): Unexpected Reactivity of Structuraly Diverse, Neutral Hypervalent P-Compounds
  2. Josh Walsh (Bodwell group, Memorial University of Newfoundland): Synthesis of Oligo(1,8-pyrenylene)s: A Series of Functional Molecular Liquids
  3. Jeremy Bard (Haley group, University of Oregon): Development of the PN-Heterocycles
June 17, 2020
  1. Karl Thorley (Anthony group, University of Kentucky): Irrational Synthesis of Alkoxy and Siloxy Acenes
  2. James May (Jasti group, University of Oregon): Active Template Approach to Nanohoop Rotaxanes
  3. Jesse Dibble (Tovar group, Johns Hopkins University): A Tale of Three Hydrophobicities: Constitutional Isomerism Guides Nanostructure Evolution and Electronic Communication in pi-Conjugated Peptides
July 1, 2020
  1. Ryan Malone (Chalifoux group, University of Nevada, Reno): Synthesis of Nanographenes and Graphene Nanoribbons for Electronic and Optoelectronic Applications
  2. Yueze Gao (Tykwinski group, University of Alberta): On the way tocarbyne: The loss of endgroup effects in long pyridyl end-capped oligo-/polyynes”
  3. Ke Zhang (Xia group, Stanford University): Synthesis and Exploration of Polycyclic Conjugated Hydrocarbons Containing Cyclobutadienoids
July 15, 2020
  1. Amy Laturski (Baumgartner group, York University): Exploring the Impact of Solvent Polarity on the Fluorescent Lewis Adduct (FLA) Method
  2. Marc MacKinnon (Bodwell group, Memorial University of Newfoundland): Synthesis of PAH-Containing Cyclophanes: New and Improved Methodologies
  3. Joshua Barker (Haley group, University of Oregon): Using Heterocycles to Increase Antiaromaticity and Diradical Character
July 29, 2020
  1. John Anthony (Anthony group, University of Kentucky): Heavy-handed Tuning of Acene Photophysics
  2. Terri Lovell (Jasti group, University of Oregon): Nanohoops: A New Molecular Architecture for Fluorescent Probe Development
  3. Lan Chen (Tykwinski group, University of Alberta): Synthesis of Pentacene Dimer Derivatives for the Study of Singlet Fission
August 12, 2020
  1. Kelsie Magiera (Chalifoux group, University of Nevada, Reno): Rainbow Connection: Tuning the Properties of Nanographenes
  2. Trevor Shear (Johnson group, University of Oregon): Design of Experiments” as a Method to Optimize Dynamic Disulfide Assemblies: Cages and Functionalizable Macrocycles
  3. Sayak Panda (Tovar group, Johns Hopkins University): TBA (Sayak’s Mystery Molecules)
August 26, 2020:
  1. Larry Scott (Scott group, UNR/BC): Early ‘Hits’ from Larry Scott’s Lab
  2. Jordan Bentley (Caputo group, York University): Frustrated Functional Materials
  3. Jinghui Yang (Xia group, Stanford University):Development of Force-Responsive Polymers That Transform into Conjugated Structures Under Stress
September 9, 2020
  1. Xiaozhou Ji (Fang group, Texas A&M University): Ladder-type polyaniline-analogous oligomers and polymer
  2. Mike Haley (Haley group, University of Oregon): When Serendipity Strikes – A Completely Unexpected Yet Fruitful Method For Heterocycle Preparation
September 23, 2020
  1. Lucas Karas (Wu group, University of Houston): Molecules in a Hurry to Get Rid of Antiaromaticity
  2. Thomas Baumgartner (Baumgartner group, York University): When life gives you lemons…find the end of the rainbow! The Hidden Value of Disappointing Reaction Outcomes
October 7, 2020
  1. Lana Hiscock (Maly group, Wilfred Laurier University): Synthesis, Characterization, and Solid-State Structures of a Series of 6,13-Dicyanoheteropentacene Analogs
  2. Anthony Jolly (Morin group, Laval University): Synthesis of graphene nanoribbons and study of the cyclodehydrochlorination reaction
  3. Yiming Hu (Zhang group, University of Colorado): Single-Crystal Helical Covalent Polymer: Architecture of Mechanically-Entwined Double Helix
October 21, 2020
  1. Niklas Grabicki (Dumele group, Humboldt University of Berlin): En Route to Tubular COFs: Highly Functionalized Strained Macrocyles as Supramolecular Hosts
  2. Kelsie Wentz (Gilliard group, University of Virginia): Germanium- and Boron-Doped Heterocycles for Main-Group Materials
November 4, 2020
  1. Mosharraf Hossain (Hartley group, Miami University of Ohio): Studies of redox and optoelectronic properties of polyaromatic hydrocarbons and fuel-driven assembly of polyfunctional substrates
  2. Josh LeDrew (Maly group, Wilfred Laurier University): Synthesis and Thionation of Imide-Bearing Discotic Liquid Crystals
November 18, 2020
  1. Viraj Kirinda (Hartley group, Miami University of Ohio): Folding-controlled assembly of o-phenylene-based macrocycles
  2. Xin Zhou (Lee group, Louisiana State University): Synthesis of Cycloparaphenyleneacetylene (CPPA) via Alkyne Metathesis
  3. Frédéric Lirette (Morin group, Laval University): Need help! Synthesis and characterisation of unexpected diradical compounds from vat dyes
December 2, 2020
  1. Leos Valenta (Juríček group, University of Zürich): Selectivity of Nucleophilic Additions to Zigzag Nanographene Diones
  2. Jeff Van Raden (Anderson group, Oxford University): Design and Synthesis of Triply-Linked Magnetic Porphyrin Arrays
  3. Henrik Gotfredsen (Anderson group, Oxford University): Porphyrin nanoring templates: New roles in synthesis and ring current studies
January 20, 2021
  1. Wenjun Xu (Anderson group, Oxford University): Molecular wires without bond-length alternation
  2. Gabrielle Warren (Haley group, University of Oregon): Tuning the antiaromaticity of s-indacene through naphthothiophene fusion*
February 17, 2021
  1. Febin Kuriakose (Alabugin group, Florida State University): Design and synthesis of Kekulé and non-Kekulé diradicaloids utilizing radical peri-annulation strategy
  2. Mikhail Feofanov (Amsharov group, University of Halle): APEX: Annulative pi-Extension
  3. Harrison Bergman (Tilley group, University of California, Berkeley): Scalable, Divergent Synthesis of a Longitudinally-Extended Carbon Nanobelt*
March 17, 2021
  1. Bob Sun (Tykwinski group, University of Alberta): Stabilization of cumulenes via endgroup engineering*
  2. Zheng Meng (Mirica Group, Dartmouth College): Unraveling the Electronic and Magnetic Properties of Two-Dimensional Conjugated Metal-Organic Framework Cu3(C6O6)2 With Atomic Precision
  3. Shalisa Oburn (Elacqua group, Penn State University): Nanothread chemistry: pressure-induced polymerizations of pi-stacked molecules*
April 14, 2021
  1. Josefine Sprachmann (Dumele group, Humboldt University): Introducing Antiaromaticity to Covalent Organic Frameworks
  2. Eric Peterson (Tovar group, Johns Hopkins University): Hybrid linear and radial π-conjugation in small molecule and polymeric cycloparaphenylenes
  3. Ke Zheng (Xia group, Stanford University): Synthesis of curved PAHs via biphenylene activation*
May 12, 2021
  1. Vladimir Akhmetov (Amsharov group, University of Halle): Alumina-mediated soft pi-activation of alkynes. “Golden” reactivity of gamma-Al2O3
  2. Anthony Mu (Feng group, Texas A&M University): Controlling the Conformation of π-Conjugated Organic Molecules Using Non-Covalent Interactions
  3. Karnjit Parmar (Gravel group, University of Saskatchewan): Synthesis of Aromatic [10]annulenes*
June 16, 2021
  1. Lucas Torres (Caputo group, York University): Allenic Phosphonium Borate Zwitterions via a Transient Phosphoinum Allenylidene
  2. Meredith Pomfret (Golder group, University of Washington): Accessing Shape Shifting Polymers from the Pericyclic Rearrangement of Bullvalene*
August 4, 2021
  1. Yong Yang (Juricek group, University of Zurich): Cycloparaphenylene-Derived Radical and Double Nanohoops: From Synthesis to Function
  2. Juraj Malinčik (Solomek group, University of Basel): ​​Möbius Carbon Nanohoops*
  3. Robert Stolz (Mirica group, Dartmouth College): Conductive Covalent Organic Frameworks in Chemiresistive Sensor Arrays for the Detection and Differentiation of Gasotransmitters
September 1, 2021
  1. Jonathan Cann (Tykwinski group, University of Alberta): A Study of Pigment Violet
  2. Carlos Romero-Nieto (Romero-Nieto group, University of Castilla-La Mancha): En Route Towards the Control of Luminescent, Optically-Active 3D Architectures

October 6, 2021

  1. Joe Woods (Rickhaus group, University of Zurich): Carpyridines: π Saddles Made to Order
  2. Nolan McNeill (Haley group, University of Oregon): Exploration of Tautomerization in Pyridine-Bearing PN-Heterocycles*

November 3, 2021

  1. Carlos Moreno Cruz (Campaña group, University of Granada): Design, synthesis and physical properties evaluation of heptagon-containing distorted nanographenes*
  2. Yujia Wang (Juríček group, University of Zürich): A simple polyaromatic host–guest system that illustrates enzyme catalysis
  3. Ryan Malone (Chalifoux group, University of Nevada, Reno): Alkyne Benzannulation to Afford Dipyrenoheteroles

We thank the Journal of Physical Organic Chemistry and Wiley for supporting the “Best Talk” prizes for 2021. Winners have a * after their talk title.