Ivan Aprahamian

Professor Aprahamian received all his degrees (BSc in 1998, MS in 2000, and PhD in 2005) from the Hebrew University of Jerusalem, Israel. His doctoral research was conducted under the supervision of Professors Mordecai Rabinovitz and Tuvia Sheradsky and focused on NMR spectroscopic studies of alkali metal reduced polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons. He then carried out postdoctoral researcher in Professor J Fraser Stoddart's Group at UCLA, where he focused on the synthesis of switchable and highly-ordered interlocked molecules in the form of bistable [n]rotaxanes. Dr. Aprahamian joined the faculty at Dartmouth College in August 2008.

Position: Assistant Professor of Chemistry
E-Mail: Ivan Aprahamian
Research group website

Research Interests

The Aprahamian group focuses on the development of i) novel molecular machines and switches, and ii) lithium-containing and -pillared carbon based materials (CBMs)

Molecular Machines: In order to build smart molecular machines that function in a predetermined fashion, it is crucial to understand and eventually control the motion of the components of such machinery. For this end we are currently invested in developing hydrazone-based rotary molecular switches.

Lithium-containing and -pillared CBMs: This research takes advantage of the ability of lithium cations to stack together the anions derived from polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons. It is expected that such lithium-containing and -pillared carbon based materials, with well defined supramolecular architectures, can be used as hydrogen storage materials.

The main tools in accomplishing these research directions are synthetic organic and organometallic chemistry. The obtained compounds are characterized and their function and application studied using spectroscopy (NMR, IR, UV, CD), X-ray crystallography and microscopy (AFM, TEM). Computations (molecular mechanics and DFT) will also be used in designing appropriate target molecules and in explaining observed phenomena.

Selected Publications

• S. M. Landge, K. Tkatchouk, D. Benitez, D. A. Lanfranchi. M. Elhabiri, W. A. Goddard III, I. Aprahamian*, “Isomerization Mechanism in Hydrazone-Based Rotary Switches: Lateral Shift, Rotation, or Tautomerization?”, J. Am. Chem. Soc. 2011, 133, 9812–9823.
• X. Su, T. F. Robbins, I. Aprahamian*, “Switching through Coordination-Coupled Proton Transfer”, Angew. Chem. Int. Ed. 2011, 50, 1841–1844.
• X. Su, I. Aprahamian*, “Switching Around Two Axles: Controlling the Configuration and Conformation of a Hydrazone-Based Switch”, Org. Lett. 2011, 13, 30–33.
• S. M. Landge, I. Aprahamian, “pH Activated Configurational Rotary Switch: Controlling the E/Z Isomerization in Hydrazones”, J. Am. Chem. Soc. 2009, 131, 18269–18271.