Directed Assembly of Extended Structures with Targeted Properties

化学科学在过去20年中呈指数级增长，在当前的社会经济环境下，化学科学显然将在推动更清洁、更高效的能源以及解决环境污染和全球变暖问题方面发挥核心作用，同时也支持医疗保健方面的进步和支持打击恐怖主义的努力。所有这些问题的根本是更深入地了解分子水平和纳米水平上的过程是如何发生的，如何将这种知识应用于产生从分子到大宗材料等所有尺寸尺度的具有特殊性质的材料，以及这些材料如何在现代社会中找到对所有人都有利的应用。这在很大程度上是未来几十年的重大挑战，不仅包括化学科学家，还包括生物学家、物理学家、材料科学家、数学家、工程师、经济学家和教育工作者。大部分进展取决于对分子以外的化学的理解，以及对具有靶向性质的延伸结构的定向组装。我们对原子组装成分子和材料的控制，以及对分子在溶液中形成固态和聚集体的受控组装，在范围上仍然非常有限，这限制了化学家和材料科学家设计具有所需性能的材料的能力，即使在了解特定性能的潜在材料要求的情况下也是如此。在传统的强键分子合成中，共价键的形成控制得很好，而且在多步骤(以及越来越多的单锅)合成中可以信心十足地制备出非常复杂的分子。相比之下，在固态材料的制备中，通过用于无限结构的蒸气沉积、用于分子固体的晶体工程(使用非共价分子间相互作用并利用分子作为基本构件)或使用分子间相互作用的分子组分的溶液相组装等技术，可以进行更有限的控制。小分子中共价键的形成可以被视为化学组装探索的第一步，如果我们要实现功能材料的先验设计，就需要极大地扩展化学组装。我们的论点是，这可以通过结合使用分子合成子和非共价相互作用来实现，以驱动更复杂系统的组装，具有分子合成已经可以实现的同样程度的确定性和控制性。通过实现这一目标，可以对人造材料施加生物水平的复杂性和功能，并带来所有明显的好处。我们现在提议建立一个网络，以确定重大挑战的关键领域，开发方法，指导具有目标特性的扩展结构的组装，并制定战略路线图，以迎接挑战和克服障碍。该网络将由广泛的科学家、工业界成员、学术学会成员、资助机构和政策制定者组成。将举行一系列一般性和专题会议，并将进行路演，向更广泛的社区宣传大挑战。该提案是由七名研究人员组成的小组提交的，他们都为2008年底首次大挑战会议产生的想法的发展做出了广泛贡献。小组成员包括巴斯大学的Paul Raithby教授、Brunel大学的Harris Makatsoris博士、伦敦帝国理工学院的George Jackson教授、利物浦大学的Matthew Rosseinsky教授、谢菲尔德大学的Michael Ward教授和格拉斯哥大学的Chick Wilson教授。

There has been an exponential growth in the Chemical Sciences over the last two decades and in the current socio-economic environment it is apparent that the chemical sciences will be central in the drive for cleaner, more efficient energy sources and in solutions to issues of environmental pollution and global warming, while also underpinning advances in healthcare and supporting the drive to combat terrorism. Fundamental to all these issues is a deeper understanding of how processes occur at the molecular level and nanometre level, how this knowledge may be applied to generate materials with particular properties across all the size scales from molecules to bulk materials, and how these materials may find applications in modern society that will be of benefit to all. This is very much the Grand Challenge for the next few decades and incorporates not only chemical scientists, but also biologists, physicists, materials scientists, mathematicians, engineers, economists and educators. Much of the progress is dependant on an understanding of chemistry beyond the molecule and the directed assembly of extended structures with targeted properties . Our control over the assembly of atoms into molecules and materials, and the controlled assembly of molecules into both solid-state and aggregates in solution, remains very limited in scope, setting limits on the ability of chemists and materials scientists to design materials with desired properties even in cases where the underlying material requirements for a particular property are understood. Control of covalent bond formation in conventional synthesis of molecules with strong bonds is good and remarkably complex molecules can be prepared with confidence in multi-step (and increasingly in single-pot) syntheses. In contrast, much more limited control is possible in the preparation of solid-state materials, by techniques such vapour deposition for infinite structures, crystal engineering (employing non-covalent intermolecular interactions and utilising molecules as the basic building blocks) for molecular solids, or solution-phase assembly of molecular components using intermolecular interactions. Covalent bond formation in small molecules can be seen as the first step in an exploration of chemical assembly that needs to be dramatically extended if we are to meet our goal of achieving the a priori design of functional materials. Our contention is that this can be achieved by the incorporation of the use of molecular synthons and non-covalent interactions, to drive the assembly of more complex systems with the same degree of certainty and control that is already achievable for molecular synthesis. By achieving this goal, biological levels of complexity and function could be imposed on artificial materials, with all the evident benefits.We now propose to set up a network to identify the key areas of the Grand Challenge to develop methods to direct the assembly of extended structures with targeted properties and to produce a strategic roadmap to meet the challenge and overcome the barriers. The network will consist of a wide range of scientists, members of the industrial community, members of learned societies, funding bodies and policy makers. A series of general and themed meetings will be held and a roadshow will promote the Grand Challenge to the wider community. The propsal has been submitted by a group of seven researchers, all of whom have contributed extensively to the development of the ideas emanating from an initial Grand Challenges Meeting in late 2008. The team is Professor Paul Raithby (PI, University of Bath), Dr Harris Makatsoris (Brunel University), Professor George Jackson (Imperial College, London), Professor Matthew Rosseinsky (University of Liverpool), Professor Michael Ward (University of Sheffield) and Professor Chick Wilson (University of Glasgow).