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。我们的工作包括功能性有机材料的合成和详细研究，大致可分为两大主题：(a)了解分子结构如何与有机分子自组装成有序纳米结构相关，以及(b)创造性能可通过外部刺激（如光，热或化学物质）控制的材料。我们工作的首要目标是建立一种通用的方法，通过这种方法可以在新材料的创造中合理地利用超分子相互作用。我们的第一个研究主题集中在芳香分子组装成盘状液晶（dlc）。这些相作为发光器件、光电器件和场效应晶体管的材料得到了广泛的研究。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，促进了广泛靶分子的制备，这使我们能够研究官能团，大小，对称和形状对相行为的影响。我们未来的研究方向将是用于锂离子电池和燃料电池中离子导电材料的亲水性dlc，以及用于促进二氧化碳从混合气体中分离的膜。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。一个重要的新方向是研究这些体系在溶液和液晶相中的复杂构象动力学。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。第二个主要的研究主题是基于蒽的分子光开关的开发。这些分子经过双分子光化学反应产生共价二聚体，而二聚体又可以通过加热或暴露在更短的波长下转化为原始形式。我们的工作重点是设计具有改进光化学和光物理性能的蒽基发色团，并在液晶光电器件和化学传感器中利用这些系统。材料的性质，从太阳能电池的效率到药物的生物利用度，都取决于分子聚集的方式。正因为如此，我们的项目，追求关于软材料的超分子化学的基本问题，在许多研究和技术领域有着广泛的影响。

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.