Yunfan Qiu
Organic Chemistry
Assistant Professor

Contact Information
Office Location: MCL 353Phone: (435) 797-2215
Email: yunfan.qiu@usu.edu
Additional Information:
Educational Background
Biography
Dr. Yunfan Qiu, also known as Frank, received his Bachelor of Science from Nanjing University in 2014. He then moved to the United States and earned his Ph.D. in Organic Chemistry from Iowa State University in 2020, under the supervision of Prof. Arthur H. Winter. Dr. Qiu conducted his postdoctoral research with Prof. Michael R. Wasielewski at Northwestern University from 2020 to 2024. In July 2024, Dr. Qiu joined Utah State University as an Assistant Professor.
Teaching Interests
Undergraduate and graduate organic chemistry; physical organic chemistry; reaction mechanisms.
Research Interests
Design, synthesis, characterization, and applications of new light-responsive molecular spintronics to address challenges in current research frontiers, including quantum information science (QIS), magnetic imaging, and spin-related solar energy conversion.
Awards
The Alpha Chi Sigma Award , 2020
Iowa State University
The David N. and Minnie I. Wall Graduate Scholarship, 2019
Iowa State University
Iowa State University Teaching Excellence Award, 2018
Iowa State University
The Edward V. Sayre Chemistry Scholarship, 2018
Iowa State University
Publications | Journal Articles
Academic Journal
- Le, H.M, Straub, J.S, Stern, Q., Equbal, A., Qiu, Y., Krzyaniak, M.D, Wasielewski, M.R, Han, S., (2025). Coherent Control over Nuclear Hyperpolarization Using an Optically Initializable Chromophore-Radical System. Journal of the American Chemical Society, 147:39, 35313-35322. doi: 10.1021/jacs.5c07862
- Latawiec, E.I, Chiesa, A., Qiu, Y., Tcyrulnikov, N.A, Young, R.M, Carretta, S., Krzyaniak, M.D, Wasielewski, M.R, (2025). Detecting chirality-induced spin selectivity in chromophore-linked DNA hairpins using photogenerated radical pairs. Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, 122:32, e2515120122. doi: 10.1073/pnas.2515120122
- Huang, Y., Qiu, Y., Young, R.M, Schatz, G.C, Krzyaniak, M.D, Wasielewski, M.R, (2024). Identifying Sources of Entanglement Loss in Photodriven Molecular Electron Spin Teleportation. Journal of the American Chemical Society, 20133−20140. doi: 10.1021/jacs.4c04393
- Ogunyemi, O.J, Rani, C., Varnavski, O., Wajahath, R., Norscia, M., Malaikal, B., Qiu, Y., Sun, S., Gu, Y., Mukamel, S., Wasielewski, M.R, Goodson, T., (2024). Understanding the Correlation of the Quantum Dephasing Time and Entangled Photon Interaction in Crystalline Tetracene Derivatives. The Journal of Physical Chemistry C, doi: 10.1021/acs.jpcc.4c05907
- Tan, L., Boehme, M., Papworth, L., Wu, K., Qiu, Y., Li, G., (2024). Highly Diastereoselective Radical Cyclopropanation of Olefins via Cobaloxime‐Based Metalloradical Catalysis. European Journal of Organic Chemistry, 28:3, e202401069. doi: 10.1002/ejoc.202401069
- Brown, P.J, Qiu, Y., Latawiec, E.I, Phelan, B.T, Tcyrulnikov, N.A, Palmer, J.R, Krzyaniak, M.D, Kopp, S.M, Huang, Y., Young, R.M, Wasielewski, M.R, (2024). Enhancing Photogenerated Radical Pair Properties in Donor-Chromophore-Acceptor Systems for Quantum Information Applications. The Journal of Physical Chemistry A, 128:43, 9371-9382. doi: 10.1021/acs.jpca.4c05015
- Peng, Q., Hwang, M.U, Rentería-Gómez, Á., Mukherjee, P., Young, R.M, Qiu, Y., Wasielewski, M.R, Gutierrez, O., Scheidt, K.A, (2024). Photochemical phosphorus-enabled scaffold remodeling of carboxylic acids. Science, 385:6716, 1471-1477. doi: 10.1126/science.adr0771
- De Biasi, F., Hope, M.A, Qiu, Y., Brown, P.J, Visegrádi, M., Ouari, O., Wasielewski, M.R, Emsley, L., (2024). Magic Angle Spinning Solid-State 13C Photochemically Induced Dynamic Nuclear Polarization by a Synthetic Donor–Chromophore–Acceptor System at 9.4 T. The Journal of Physical Chemistry Letters, 15:20, 5488-5494. doi: 10.1021/acs.jpclett.4c01121
- Qiu, Y., Du, L., Cady, S.D, Phillips, D.L, Winter, A.H, (2024). Optical and EPR Detection of a Triplet Ground State Phenyl Nitrenium Ion. Journal of the American Chemical Society, 146:15, 10679-10686. doi: 10.1021/jacs.4c00511
- Qiu, Y., Eckvahl, H.J, Equbal, A., Krzyaniak, M.D, Wasielewski, M.R, (2023). Enhancing Coherence Times of Chromophore-Radical Molecular Qubits and Qudits by Rational Design. Journal of the American Chemical Society, 145:47, 25903-25909. doi: 10.1021/jacs.3c10772
- Qiu, Y., Equbal, A., Lin, C., Huang, Y., Brown, P.J, Young, R.M, Krzyaniak, M.D, Wasielewski, M.R, (2023). Optical Spin Polarization of a Narrow‐Linewidth Electron‐Spin Qubit in a Chromophore/Stable‐Radical System. Angewandte Chemie International Edition, 62:6, doi: 10.1002/anie.202214668
- Jacobberger, R.M, Qiu, Y., Williams, M.L, Krzyaniak, M.D, Wasielewski, M.R, (2022). Using Molecular Design to Enhance the Coherence Time of Quintet Multiexcitons Generated by Singlet Fission in Single Crystals. Journal of the American Chemical Society, 144:5, 2276-2283. doi: 10.1021/jacs.1c12414
- Bancroft, L., Qiu, Y., Krzyaniak, M.D, Wasielewski, M.R, (2022). Effect of the Time Delay between Spin State Preparation and Measurement on Electron Spin Teleportation in a Covalent Donor–Acceptor–Radical System. The Journal of Physical Chemistry Letters, 13:1, 156-160. doi: 10.1021/acs.jpclett.1c03780
- Qiu, Y., Winter, A.H, (2020). Anomalous Electronic Properties of Iodous Materials: Application to High-Spin Reactive Intermediates and Conjugated Polymers. The Journal of Organic Chemistry, 85:6, 4145-4152. doi: 10.1021/acs.joc.9b03289
- Qiu, Y., Fischer, L.J, Dutton, A.S, Winter, A.H, (2017). Aryl Nitrenium and Oxenium Ions with Unusual High-Spin π,π* Ground States: Exploiting (Anti)Aromaticity. The Journal of Organic Chemistry, 82:24, 13550-13556. doi: 10.1021/acs.joc.7b02698
- Du, L., Qiu, Y., Lan, X., Zhu, R., Phillips, D.L, Li, M., Dutton, A.S, Winter, A.H, (2017). Direct Detection of the Open-Shell Singlet Phenyloxenium Ion: An Atom-Centered Diradical Reacts as an Electrophile. Journal of the American Chemical Society, 139:42, 15054-15059. doi: 10.1021/jacs.7b07512
- Qiu, Y., Winter, A.H, (2017). New photoheterolysis precursors to study oxenium ions: combining experiment and theory.. Organic & biomolecular chemistry, 15:13, 2666-2671. doi: 10.1039/C7OB00180K
- Zheng, X., Wang, X., Qiu, Y., Li, Y., Zhou, C., Sui, Y., Li, Y., Ma, J., Wang, X., (2013). One-Electron Oxidation of an Organic Molecule by B(C6F5)3; Isolation and Structures of Stable Non-para-substituted Triarylamine Cation Radical and Bis(triarylamine) Dication Diradicaloid. Journal of the American Chemical Society, 135:40, 14912-14915. doi: 10.1021/ja407318h
- Mayländer, M., Nolden, O., Franz, M., Chen, S., Bancroft, L., Qiu, Y., Wasielewski, M.R, Gilch, P., Richert, S., Accessing the triplet state of perylenediimide by radical-enhanced intersystem crossing. Chemical Science, 13:22, 6732-6743. doi: 10.1039/D2SC01899C
- Fang, Y., Sun, Q., Chen, X., Qiu, Y., Chen, C., Wang, L., Zhao, Y., Su, Y., Li, T., Zhang, L., Wang, X., Rational design and syntheses of aniline-based diradical dications: isolable congeners of quinodimethane diradicals. Organic Chemistry Frontiers, 8:5, 891-900. doi: 10.1039/D0QO01265C
- Du, L., Wang, J., Qiu, Y., Liang, R., Lu, P., Chen, X., Phillips, D.L, Winter, A.H, Generation and direct observation of a triplet arylnitrenium ion. Nature Communications, 13:1, doi: 10.1038/s41467-022-31091-z
- Zhang, S., Wang, X., Su, Y., Qiu, Y., Zhang, Z., Wang, X., Isolation and reversible dimerization of a selenium–selenium three-electron σ-bond. Nature Communications, 5:1, doi: 10.1038/ncomms5127
An asterisk (*) at the end of a publication indicates that it has not been peer-reviewed.
Publications | Other
An asterisk (*) at the end of a publication indicates that it has not been peer-reviewed.