Engineering New Molecular Materials

我和课题组对分子材料科学技术有着广泛的兴趣。我们正在了解这些材料的结构和性质是如何依赖于构成它们的单个分子的，我们正在利用这种理解通过设计创造有价值的新材料。这项工作很重要，因为用于未来技术的先进材料必须具有纳米精度控制的结构和性能。这一领域的进展需要采用多学科方法，使用来自许多科学领域的工具和理解。总的来说，我们小组在最近的工作过程中掌握了这些技能。在小组中训练的学生培养了强大的核心技能，但他们也学习如何跨越学科的传统界限，在其他实验室工作，并培养不同领域语言的说和写能力。***我们以前的贡献包括(1)开发模块化方法来构建新的可预测的有序材料；(2)采用模块化结构生产多孔分子固体；(3)对表面和晶体上的二维和三维分子组织进行综合研究，揭示潜在的行为模式；(4)探索“晶体工程的阴暗面”，寻找抑制结晶的途径；(5)构建类似金刚石和石墨的结晶共价键分子材料的策略；(6)控制薄膜中的分子组织以改进光电器件，如太阳能电池。***这项工作使我们处于有利地位，可以开展一项雄心勃勃的研究计划，重点关注以下要素：*******(1)具有孔隙率和导电性等有用特性的工程结晶聚合物****(2)对结晶机理的深入了解***(3)通过设计引入缺陷的掺杂分子材料****(4)利用表面上的二维吸附来操纵三维结晶***(5)控制分子组织薄膜，以提高光电器件的性能，如光伏电池*******拟议的计划有望导致基础科学发现和有价值的新技术。此外，它将有助于该集团加强其在分子材料领域的国际领导地位，并将加强培训高技能的年轻研究人员，使他们能够在一个充满活力和多学科的领域工作，并有许多机会在基础科学和应用科学方面取得进展

My research group and I are broadly interested in the science and technology of molecular materials. We are learning how the structures and properties of such materials depend on the individual molecules from which they are built, and we are using this understanding to create valuable new materials by design. This work is important because advanced materials used in future technology must have structures and properties controlled with nanometric precision. Progress in this area requires a multidisciplinary approach, using tools and understanding taken from many areas of science. Collectively, our group has mastered these skills in the course of its recent work. Individual students trained in the group develop a strong core of skills, but they also learn how to cross the conventional boundaries of disciplines, work in other laboratories, and develop an ability to speak and write the languages of different fields.***Our previous contributions have included (1) the development of modular approaches to constructing new predictably ordered materials; (2) the use of modular construction to produce porous molecular solids; (3) integrated studies of 2D and 3D molecular organization on surfaces and in crystals to reveal underlying patterns of behavior; (4) exploration of the "dark side of crystal engineering" to find ways to inhibit crystallization; (5) strategies for constructing crystalline covalently-bonded molecular materials analogous to diamond and graphite; and (6) controlling molecular organization in thin films to improve optoelectronic devices such as solar cells.***This work puts us in a strong position to undertake an ambitious program of research focusing on the following elements:*******(1) Engineering crystalline polymers with useful properties such as porosity and conductivity****(2) Developing a deeper understanding of the mechanism of crystallization***(3) Making doped molecular materials in which defects are introduced by design****(4) Using 2D adsorption on surfaces to manipulate 3D crystallization***(5) Controlling molecular organization in thin films to enhance the performance of optoelectronic devices such as photovoltaic cells*******The proposed program promises to lead to fundamental scientific discoveries and to valuable new technology. In addition, it will help the group strengthen its position of international leadership in the field of molecular materials, and it will enhance the training of highly skilled young researchers by allowing them to work in a dynamic and multidisciplinary field with many opportunities to make advances in basic and applied science.***