Self-assembly of Functional Organic Materials

我们研究的目的是设计动态材料，以满足对清洁空气、清洁水和清洁能源的迫切需求。我们的工作包括有机功能材料的合成和详细研究，大致可分为两大主题：(A)了解分子结构与有机分子自组装成有序纳米结构的关系，以及(B)创造其性质可以通过外部刺激(如光、热或化学物种)控制的材料。我们工作的一个主要目标是建立一般方法，通过这些方法，超分子相互作用可以在创造新材料时被合理地利用。我们的第一个研究主题是芳香族分子组装成盘状液晶(DLC)。这些相作为发光器件、光伏和场效应晶体管的材料已被广泛研究。我们的主要目标是揭示控制这些分子组装成纳米结构的规则，这些纳米结构最终决定了它们作为半导体的性能。为此，我们成功地开发了高度模块化的合成方法，促进了一系列目标分子的制备，这使得我们能够研究官能团、尺寸、对称性和形状对相行为的影响。我们未来的研究将集中在用于锂离子电池和燃料电池的离子导电材料的亲水性DLC，以及用于促进从混合气体中分离二氧化碳的膜。我们还将研究柔性分子的自组装，其行为因其不可预测的形状而变得复杂。研究这些体系在溶液和液晶相中的复杂构象动力学是一个重要的新方向。为了回答这些问题，我们运用了广泛的综合、分析和理论工具。第二个主要研究主题是基于菲的分子光开关的开发。这些分子经历双分子光化学反应产生共价二聚体，这些二聚体又可以通过热或暴露在较短的波长下转换成原始形式。我们的工作集中在设计具有更好的光化学和光物理性能的基于蒽的发色团，以及在液晶光电子器件和化学传感器中利用这些系统。材料的性能，从太阳能电池的效率到药物的生物利用度，取决于分子在体内组装的方式。因此，我们的计划，追求与软材料的超分子化学有关的基本问题，在许多研究和技术领域具有广泛的影响。

The aim of our research is to design dynamic materials that meet the urgent demands for clean air, clean water and clean energy. Our work encompasses the synthesis and detailed investigation of functional organic materials and can be broadly categorized into two major themes: (a) understanding how molecular structure relates to the self-assembly of organic molecules into ordered nanostructures, and (b) creating materials whose properties can be controlled via external stimuli such as light, heat or chemical species. An overarching goal of our work is to establish general methods by which supramolecular interactions can be rationally exploited in the creation of new materials. Our first research theme focuses on the assembly of aromatic molecules into discotic liquid crystals (DLCs). These phases have been widely studied as materials for light emitting devices, photovoltaics and field effect transistors. Our primary objective is to uncover the rules that govern the assembly of these molecules into the nanostructures that ultimately determine their performance as semiconductors. To this end, we have successfully developed highly modular synthetic approaches that facilitate the preparation of a wide array of target molecules, which has enabled us to study the effects of functional groups, size, symmetry and shape on phase behavior. Our future research will be directed towards hydrophilic DLCs for ion-conductive materials in lithium-ion batteries and fuel cells, and for membranes to facilitate the separation of CO2 from mixtures of gases. We will also examine the self-assembly of flexible molecules, whose behaviour is complicated by their unpredictable shapes. An important new direction is the study of the complex conformational dynamics of these systems in solution and the liquid crystal phase. To answer these questions, we bring to bear a wide range of synthetic, analytical and theoretical tools.   A second major research theme is the development molecular photoswitches based on anthracene. These molecules undergo a bimolecular photochemical reactions to yield covalent dimers, which in turn can be converted to their original form either thermally or by exposure to shorter wavelengths. Our work focuses on designing anthracene-based chromophores that show improved photochemical and photophysical performance, and on exploiting these systems in liquid crystalline optoelectronic devices and chemical sensors.   Materials properties, ranging from the efficiency of solar cells to the bioavailability of pharmaceuticals, depend on the manner in which molecules assemble in the bulk. As such, our program, which pursues fundamental questions regarding the supramolecular chemistry of soft materials, has broad implications across many areas of research and technology.