Modulation of Catalytic activity in Molecular Enclosures

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The fine structural control and stabilisation of potential intermediates is crucial for the functionality and specificity of the catalytic process. The project will develop general protocol for pore and cavity functionalisation of porous materials ranging from molecular cages and MOFs to porous molecular metal oxide capsules by careful investigation of the fundamentals of modulated self-assembly, while scoping out the potential applications carefully designed molecular hosts in small molecule activation and highly specific heterogeneous catalysts. Specifically, we will use self-assembly protocols to generate highly functionalised molecular hosts with a range of topologies which can accommodate chemically stable molecular catalysts, and correlate structure-property relationships. The most promising materials will be explored further for tailored for catalytic and energy applications, in collaboration with a network of experts. The research project is thus highly interdisciplinary, at the interface of inorganic/organic chemistry, materials and engineering, with the potential to have a major impact on the development of functional materials.