Controlling Molecular Organization in Materials

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Advanced synthetic materials made up of molecules composed largely of carbon are ubiquitous in modern life and essential to our well-being. The properties of these materials depend not just on the identity of the individual molecular components, but also on how they are positioned in the materials and on how they interact with neighboring molecules. Controlling molecular organization and interactions is therefore a prerequisite for making effective new materials. Many factors govern collective molecular behavior, however, and the outcome is seldom predictable, despite decades of study. This creates major obstacles to progress. To help surmount them, we will undertake an ambitious program of research to deepen understanding of molecular organization and interactions. Our goal is to allow effective new materials to be created by design. Materials science is a multidisciplinary field that uses tools and understanding taken from many areas. With support from the Canada Research Chair in Molecular Materials, the Wuest group has developed a unique environment for research and training that combines a core of expertise in organic chemistry with strong skills in other areas, including inorganic chemistry, surface science, physical chemistry, computation, and the fabrication of working devices. Together, these skills let us design and synthesize complex new molecules, determine their organization in 3D (in bulk materials) and 2D (deposited on surfaces), measure key properties, and test their performance in applications. We will make new materials by modular construction, which is based on using molecular modules that interact with neighboring modules and thereby place them in predetermined positions. We are confident that this strategy will yield valuable new ordered solids related to diamond and graphite, but with special properties not previously observed in carbon-based materials. In addition, our work is expected to yield guidelines indicating when one molecule can be replaced by another in an otherwise ordered structure, which may help show how crystallization can be controlled to produce new solid forms or how it can prevented altogether to give amorphous materials. An additional objective is to use our skills in modular construction to make new porous molecular solids that can be oxidized and reduced reversibly, thereby allowing the creation of carbon-based batteries. The proposed work builds on a solid foundation of previous research in the Wuest group and moves in challenging new directions. All elements of the program are linked by an underlying interest in molecular organization and how it can be controlled. We expect the program to continue to yield fundamental scientific advances, help Canada maintain a position of international leadership in the field of molecular materials, offer a world-class multidisciplinary environment for training, and let trainees participate actively in the creation of useful new technology.