Tien-Sung Tom Lin

Professor Emeritus of Chemistry
Postdoctoral Fellow, Harvard University
PhD, University of Pennsylvania
MS, Syracuse University
BS, Tunghai University, Taiwan
    research interests:
    • Biophysical Chemistry
    • Electron Paramagnetic Resonance
    • Enzymes
    • Free Radicals Chemistry and Medicine
    • Materials Chemistry
    • Mesoporous Silicas and Zeolites
    • Photo Physical and Photochemical Processes
    • Physical Chemistry
      View All People

      contact info:

      mailing address:

      • Washington University
      • CB 1134
      • One Brookings Dr.
      • St. Louis, MO 63130-4899
      image of book cover

      Professor Lin's research employs both cw and pulsed EPR techniques to study the structure and dynamics of paramagnetic species: reactive intermediates, such as free radicals; photo-induced paramagnetism, such as photo-excited triplet state; transition metal containing compounds and enzymes. 

      Applications of zero-field (ZF) EPR spectroscopy. Recently, we developed a field and frequency agile pulsed EPR spectrometer to measure the properties and dynamics of photo-excited triplet state of organic molecules in ZF and low magnetic field. The conventional wisdom regards the first order hyperfine interaction (HFI) between electron and nuclear spin is zero in ZF because the magnetic moment is negligible in ZF. We have demonstrated the HFI can be observed in ZF during the pulsed EPR FID detection period for the photo-excited triplet state of organic molecules after the application of a short microwave pulse. The measurements in ZF and near ZF (0.1 - 1.0 mT) show that organic molecules remember the events happen shortly before \the measurements. The molecular memory and associated selective spin population in the photo-excitation could render organic solids a new class of materials for quantum computing. We have observed the drastic changes of spectral profile when we turn on a magnetic field as small as 0.4 mT by a field jump technique. We believe this is a promising experimental technique to examine a particular interaction, such as hyperfine, quadrupole, or other types of interactions by imposing a selective external field during the FID period. The technique allows us to examine the natural line width, spin-spin relaxation, dynamic nuclear polarization, and phase transition induced by molecular motions.

      Chemistry in the confined space of mesoporous silica (MPS) materials. We have studied the catalytic reactions and reaction pathways of enzymes and biomimetic model compounds immobilized in the nanochannels of MSP materials (pore diameter of 2 - 10 nm) by spectroscopic techniques: Uv-Visible, IR, EPR and NMR. These reactions are carried out in the nanopores (nanoreactors), which effectively make the concentration much higher and avoid the random attacks between fast-reacting species. Nanoreactors therefore open up the possibility of "single molecule chemistry" otherwise accessible only in extreme dilution. The nanopores of MPS provide proper environment, electrostatic attraction, geometry and configuration, to facilitate catalytic reactions, increase the stability of catalytic centers, and yield high turnover number. Site-isolation of native enzymes and biomimetic complexes through encapsulation in porous solid materials further allow the use of less sterically demanding ligands while retains structural stability 

      Selected Publications

      L. L. Dugan, D. M. Turetsky, C. Du, D. Lobner, M. Wheeler, R. Almli, C. K.-F.Shen, T.-Y. Luh, D. W. Choi, and T.-S. Lin, "Carboxyfullernes as Neuroprotective Agents", Proc. Natl. Acad. Sci., 94, 9434 -9439 (1997).

      Jun Lang, David J. Sloop, and Tien-Sung Lin, "Dynamics of p-terphenyl crystals at the phase transition temperature: A zero-field EPR study of the photo-excited triplet state of pentacene in p-terphenyl crystals" J. Phys. Chem. - A, 111, 4731- 4736 (2007).

      Tomoaki Yago, Tien-Sung Lin, Gerhard Link, and Gerd Kothe, "Pulsed Electron Nuclear Double Resonance Studies of the Photo-excited Triplet State of Pentacene in p-Terphenyl Crystals at Room Temperature" J. Chem. Phys. 127, 114503 ( 2007).

      Chia-Hung Lee, Tien-Sung Lin, and Chung-Yuan Mou, "Mesoporous Materials for Encapsulating Enzymes" Nano Today 4, 165-179 (2009).

      Chia-Hung Lee, Han-Chou Lin, Tien-Sung Lin, and Chung-Yuan Mou, "Reactivity Study of Hydroxo-Bridged Dinuclear Cupric Complexes Encapsulated in Mesoporous Silica: Model Compounds for Catechol Oxidases", J. Phys. Chem. - C 113, 16058-16069 (2009).

      Kun-Che Kao, Chia-Hung Lee, Tien-Sung Lin, and Chung-Yuan Mou, "Cytochrome c covalently immobilized on mesoporous silicas as a peroxidase: Orientation effect", J. Mater. Chem. 20, 4653 - 4662 (2010).

      Gerd Kothe, Tomoaki Yago, Jörg-Ulrich Weidner, Gerhard Link, Michail Lukaschek, and Tien-Sung Lin, "Quantum Oscillations of Nuclear Spins in Photo-excited Triplet States", J. Phys. Chem. B, 114, 14755-14762 (2010).

      Ya-Cheng Fang, Chia-Hung Lee, I-Jui Hsu, Tien-Sung Lin, and Chung-Yuan Mou, “Bio-inspired Design of a Cu-Zn-Imidazolate Mesoporous Silica Catalyst System for Superoxide Dismutation”, J. Phys. Chem. C, 115, 20639-20652 (2011).

      Raghavan Rajagopalan, Tien-Sung Lin, Amolkumar S. Karwa, Amruta R. Poreddy, Bethel  Asmelash, and Richard B. Dorshow, “Type 1 Phototherapeutic Agents, Part II: Cancer Cell Viability and ESR Studies of Tricyclic Diarylamines”, ACS Medicinal Chemistry Letters, 3, 284-288 (2012).

      Xiaoyan Liu, Ming-Han Liu, Yi-Chia Luo, Chung-Yuan Mou, Shawn Lin, Hong Cheng, Jin-Ming Chen, Jyh-Fu Lee, Tien-Sung Lin, “Strong metal-support interactions between gold nanoparticles and ZnO nanorods in CO oxidation”, J. Am. Chem. Soc. 134, 10251-10258 (2012)

      Kun-Che Kao, Tien-Sung Lin, and Chung-Yuan Mou, “Enhancing Activity and Stability of Lysozyme by Immobilization in the Mesoporous Silica Nanoparticles”, J. Phys. Chem. - C  118, 6734−6743 (2014).

      Po-Yeng Feng, Yi-Hung Liu, Tien-Sung Lin, Shie-Ming Peng, and Ching-Wen Chiu, “Redox Chemistry of a Hydroxylphenyl-Substituted Borane”, Angew. Chem. Int. Ed. 53, 6237-6240 (2014).

      Chih-Cheng Liu, Tien-Sung Lin, Sunney Chan and Chung-Yuan Mou, “A Room Temperature Catalyst for Toluene Aliphatic C-H bond Oxidation: Tripodal Tridentate Copper Complex Immobilized in Mesoporous Silica”, J. of Catalysis, 322, 139-151 (2015).

      Qingbo Yang, Tien-Sung Lin, Casey Burton, Sung-Ho Park and Yinfa Ma, “Physicochemical Insights of Irradiation Enhanced Hydroxyl Radical Generation from ZnO Nanoparticles”, Toxicol. Res., 5, 482-491 (2016).

      Li-Chung Yu, Gene-Hsiang Lee, Marc Sigrist, Tien-Sung Lin and Shie-Ming Peng, “Structure and antiferromagnetism of trinuclear heterometallic strings containing MnII–MII–MnII frameworks (M = Ni, Pd, Pt)”, Euro. J. Inorg. Chem. 2016, 4250-4256 (2016).

      Chun-Chieh Wang, Hao-Ching Chang, Yei-Chen Lai, Huayi Fang, Chieh-Chin Li, Hun-Kai Hsu, Zong-Yan Li, Tien-Sung Lin, Ting-Shen Kuo, Shengfa Ye, Yun-Wei Chiang, Ming-Li Tsai, Wen-Feng Liaw, and Way-Zen Lee, “A Structurally Characterized Nonheme Cobalt-Hydroperoxo Complex Derived from its Superoxo Intermediate via Hydrogen Atom Abstraction”,  J. Am. Chem. Soc.138, 14186–14189 (2016).

      Wei-Chun Liu, Yi-Hung Liu, Tien-Sung Lin, Shie-Ming Peng and Ching-Wen Chiu, “1,2-Migration of N-Diarylboryl Imidazol-2-ylidene through Intermolecular Radical Process”, Inorganic Chemistry, 56, 10543-10548 (2017).

      Tien-Sung Lin, Invited paper, “Novel Pulsed Electron Paramagnetic Resonance Techniques for the Studies of Structure and Dynamics of Photo-excited Triplet State of Organic Molecules: A Professional Journey”, J. Chinese Chem. Soc. (Taiwan), 65, 163-188 (2018).

      Ming-Han Liu, Yun-Wen Chen, Tien-Sung Lin, Chung-Yuan Mou, “Defective Mesocrystal ZnO-Supported Gold Catalysts: Facilitating CO Oxidation via Vacancy Defects in ZnO", ACS Catalysis 8, 6862-6869 (2018)

      Cheng-Chang Chiu, Gene-Hsiang Lee, Tien-Sung Lin and Shie-Ming Peng, “Ligand Effects on the Structure, Mixed-valence Sites and Magnetic Properties of Novel Pentanickel String Complexes”, Dalton Trans, 48, 8464-8477 (2019).

      Ming-Chuan Cheng, Rui-Xiang Huang, Yu-Chiao Liu, Ming-Hsi Chiang, Gene-Hsiang Lee, Tien-Sung Lin and Shie-Ming Peng, “Structures and paramagnetism of five heterometallic pentanuclear metal strings containing as many as four different metals: NiPtCo2Pd(tpda)4Cl2”, Dalton Trans., 49, 7299-7303 (2020) (on journal cover).

      Chi Li, Sheng-Chih Hsu, Jun-Xiao Lin, Jou-Yun Chen, Yuan-Pin Chang, Hua Shu Hsu, Ching-Hsiang Chen, Tien-Sung Lin, and Yi-Hsin Liu, “Giant Zeeman Splitting in Monolayer Nanosheets at Room Temperature” J. Am. Chem. Soc. 142, 20626-20623 (2020).

       Gerd Kothe, Michail Lukaschek, Tomoaki Yago, Gerhard Link, Konstantin L. Ivanov, Tien-Sung Lin, “Initialization of 214 14-qubit entangled nuclear spin states in a hyperpolarized molecular solid" Journal of Physical Chemistry Letters, 12, 3647-3654 (2021).

      Ming-Chuan Cheng, Chien-Hung Cheng, Po-Jung Chen, Tien-Sung Lin, Gene-Hsiang Lee, Yu-Chiao Liu, Ming-Hsi Chiang, and Shie-Ming Peng, “Helical homometallic trinickel string complexes with mixed hard nitrogen   and sulfur donors: structural and magnetic studies”, Bulletin of the Chemical Society of Japan, 94, 2092-2099 (2021).

      Shie-Ming Peng, Tien-Sung Lin, Chun-hsien Chen, Ming-Chuan Cheng, and Geng-Min Lin, “From metal-metal multiple bonds to helical metal strings”, a book chapter in “Ladder Polymers: Synthesis, Properties, Application, and Perspectives” 349-400 (2023) (Editors: Yan Xia, Masahiko Yamaguchi, and Tien-Yau Luh (Wiley-VCH,NY).