Modulation of Catalytic activity in Molecular Enclosures

潜在中间体的精细结构控制和稳定对于催化过程的功能和特异性至关重要。该项目将通过仔细研究调制自组装的基本原理，为多孔材料（从分子笼和mof到多孔分子金属氧化物胶囊）的孔和腔功能化制定通用方案，同时确定精心设计的分子宿主在小分子活化和高度特异性非均相催化剂中的潜在应用。具体来说，我们将使用自组装协议来生成具有一系列拓扑结构的高度功能化的分子宿主，这些拓扑结构可以容纳化学稳定的分子催化剂，并关联结构-性质关系。与专家网络合作，将进一步探索最有前途的材料，为催化和能源应用量身定制。因此，该研究项目是高度跨学科的，处于无机/有机化学，材料和工程的界面，有可能对功能材料的发展产生重大影响。

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.