Details of Grant 

EPSRC Reference:	EP/C542819/1
Title:	Understanding and Controlling the Self Assembly of Nanoscale Polyoxometalate Clusters
Principal Investigator:	Cronin, Professor L
Other Investigators:
Researcher Co-Investigators:
Project Partners:
Department:	School of Chemistry
Organisation:	University of Glasgow
Scheme:	Advanced Fellowship (Pre-FEC)
Starts:	01 March 2006	Ends:	28 February 2011	Value (£):	261,614
EPSRC Research Topic Classifications:	Chemical Structure Co-ordination Chemistry
EPSRC Industrial Sector Classifications:	Manufacturing Electronics
Related Grants:
Panel History:	Panel Date Panel Name Outcome 13 Apr 2005 Chemistry Fellowships Interview Panel Deferred 16 Mar 2005 Chemistry Fellowships Sift Panel 2005 Deferred
Summary on Grant Application Form
Nanoscale polyoxometalate clusters are molecules of metal oxide 10,000 times thinner than a human hair (a common metal oxide is rust) and they provide arguably an unrivalled class of molecules displaying a wide range of very interesting physical properties (they can be used as molecular machines to 'help' one molecule turn into another very quickly without waste, they can change colour in light and be used to store information like dyes on a DVD, be used like a battery to store electricity and even as very small magnets). This is because they can be thought of being based on a common set of building blocks, or lego bricks, that can be put together in many ways to build different types of molecular objects in 'one step'. Although these molecules are large and contain many thousands of building blocks, the way they build themselves is not understood and it is not possible to design the molecules using a blueprint or any other plan. Also these molecules are fragile and easily fall apart.In this research we will develop an approach to look at the 'one step' construction of these very large clusters with the aim of working out exactly how they are built. To do this we will need to adopt a number of different styles of detective work, from examining the structure of these molecules by making them more stable by wrapping them in a type of plastic, to trapping the individual lego bricks before they assemble into the nanoscale cluster. We will do this by weighing the clusters and building blocks present, and by measuring their molecular fingerprint when we make the clusters. We will also design different plans and test them by trying to predict the shape of the cluster before we make them. We will also look at the clusters using an extremely powerful microscope so we can accurately make this comparison.
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Organisation Website:	http://www.gla.ac.uk