New materials from reversible covalent self-assembly

材料的性质既取决于分子的性质，也取决于这些分子的组织方式和相互作用方式。 超分子化学领域利用分子间的特殊吸引力来控制分子间的相互作用并构建分子组装体。 这些吸引力不像化学键那么强，所以组装往往很容易被破坏。 一种新出现的制造新材料的策略，称为动态共价化学，用特殊的化学键取代分子之间的吸引力，形成大分子组装体。 这些化学键很强，但可以逆转，使单个组件之间的链接可以拆卸和重新组装，以形成最稳定的安排。 键形成的可逆性有助于控制分子结构，并使动态材料可以在添加新分子或改变化学环境时发生变化。本研究计划计划利用这种可逆共价组装来制造新型材料并控制其性能。 具体而言，可逆共价组装的原理将被应用于制备可用于液晶显示器（LCD）或光伏太阳能电池的新型液晶。 该研究计划还将专注于应用这种方法来制造刚性的三维分子网络，这些网络具有可以吸收海绵等小分子的微孔。 这些多孔材料可以用作车辆中储氢的介质，或者可以被设计用于催化某些类型的化学反应。

The properties of materials depend both on the nature of the molecules, and on the way these molecules are organized and interact with one another.  The field of supramolecular chemistry uses specific attractive forces between molecules to control the intermolecular interactions and build assemblies of molecules.  These attractive forces are not as strong as chemical bonds, so the assemblies are often easily disrupted.  A newly emerging strategy for making new materials, known as dynamic covalent chemistry, replaces the attractive forces between molecules with special chemical bonds to form large molecular assemblies.  These chemical bonds are strong, but can be reversed so that the links between individual components can disassemble and reassemble to form the most stable arrangement.  The reversibility of the bond formation helps to control the molecular organization and makes dynamic materials that can be changed when new molecules are added or when the chemical environment is changed.This research program plans to exploit this reversible covalent assembly to make new types of materials and control their properties.  Specifically, the principles of reversible covalent assembly will be applied to the preparation new types of liquid crystals that can be used in liquid crystal displays (LCDs) or photovoltaic solar cells.  The research program will also focus on applying this approach to make rigid, three-dimensional molecular networks that have tiny pores that can soak up small molecules like sponges.  These porous materials could be used as media for hydrogen storage in vehicles, or could be designed to catalyze certain types of chemical reactions.