Our research bridges the gap between organic synthesis, materials chemistry, and supramolecular chemistry, aided by high-throughput automation, focusing on the discovery of functional organic materials. This includes molecular organic materials, supramolecular assemblies, and porous liquids.
HIGH-THROUGHPUT SYNTHESIS
We have extensive experience in the automated synthesis of molecular organic materials and supramolecular assemblies formed using dynamic covalent chemistries and high-throughput robotic platforms. In particular, we have an interest in developing hybrid discovery workflows with our collaborators, combining high-throughput automation with computational modelling, to both guide and accelerate discovery.
Selected publications:
High-throughput discovery of organic cages and catenanes using computational screening fused with robotic synthesis, Nature Commun., 2018, 9, 2849
Computationally-inspired discovery of an unsymmetrical porous organic cage, Nanoscale, 2018, 10, 22381
From concept to crystals via prediction: multi-component organic cage pots by social self-sorting, Angew. Chem. Int. Ed., 2019, 131, 16421
MOLECULAR ORGANIC MATERIALS & SUPRAMOLECULAR assemblies
Molecular organic materials are assembled from discrete organic molecules, and have shown potential in a wide range of applications including gas uptake, molecular separations, as chemical sensors, in catalysis, and energy storage. Organic cages are discrete molecules containing a permanent intrinsic cavity, and are formed by the self-assembly of multiple components using dynamic covalent chemistries. They have been shown to be an ideal molecular species with which to generate porous liquids – a new counter-intuitive class of functional material that combines the mobility of a liquid with the properties of a porous solid.
POROUS LIQUIDS
Porous materials are typically solids, but recently, we have shown it’s possible to form liquids with permanent intrinsic porosity. These porous liquids are unique, combining the mobility of a liquid with the properties of a porous solid, meaning they could have unique applications and the potential to transform the porous materials field. Porous liquids fundamentally differ to conventional liquids in that they contain permanent, empty, accessible cavities. By engineering ‘intrinsic’ porosity into a liquid; that is, by incorporating permanent shape-persistent cavities within the molecules that make up the liquid, over the inherent ‘extrinsic’ porosity seen in all liquids, it is possible to form a porous liquid. Three types were initially proposed in 2007, but it was only from 2015 onwards that the first porous liquids were reported which provided proof-of-concept that permanent porosity in liquids was achievable, and that they have the potential to demonstrate gas uptake and size-selectivity of liquid guests. We are interested in the design, synthesis, and characterisation, of new porous liquids, followed by investigating their use in new applications by studying their guest-host behaviour and optical properties.
Selected publications:
Liquids with permanent porosity, Nature, 2015, 527, 216
Understanding gas capacity, guest selectivity and diffusion in porous liquids, Chem. Sci., 2017, 8, 2640
Accelerated robotic discovery of type 2 porous liquids, Chem. Sci., 2019, 10, 9454