| EPSRC Reference: |
GR/S73860/01 |
| Title: |
2nd Level Self-Assembly |
| Principal Investigator: |
James, Professor S |
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| Department: |
Sch of Chemistry and Chemical Eng |
| Organisation: |
Queen's University of Belfast |
| Scheme: |
Standard Research (Pre-FEC) |
| Starts: |
01 September 2004 |
Ends: |
29 February 2008 |
Value (£): |
99,040
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Summary on Grant Application Form |
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One of the most fundamental challenges facing modern science is to control the structure of matter on the multi-nanometer (1-100nm) scale. Self-assembly of metal-organic systems has been used to great effect in preparing atomically precise aggregates of typical dimensions up to 1-3nm, and exceptionally up to 5nm, but this area has now reached its practical size limit. Here I propose a step change: to take these self-assembled species and cause a 2nd self-assembly step to make larger assemblies. This is referred to as '2nd level assembly. Two types of assembling interaction will be used. Firstly, labile metal-ligation is used to form coordination cages of ca. 3nm which are designed to act as building blocks by having hydrophobic receptor sites on their exteriors. Secondly, oligoaromatic compounds will be used to bridge between cages and so connect them into larger polyhedral aggregates via the receptor sites, by hydrophobic and aromatic interactions. Unusually large tetrahedral, cubic or icosahedral aggregates with diameters of up to ca. 8-10nm may be accessed.To achieve this, our previous synthetic work on coordination cages, based in organic solvents, needs to be modified to occur in aqueous solutions. In this way, strong hydrophobic forces can be exploited for the 2nd self assembly step. A large part of the synthetic work is therefore the synthesis of appropriate water-soluble ligands.
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Key Findings |
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This information can now be found on Gateway to Research (GtR) http://gtr.rcuk.ac.uk
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Potential use in non-academic contexts |
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This information can now be found on Gateway to Research (GtR) http://gtr.rcuk.ac.uk
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Impacts |
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| Description |
This information can now be found on Gateway to Research (GtR) http://gtr.rcuk.ac.uk |
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Sectors submitted by the Researcher |
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This information can now be found on Gateway to Research (GtR) http://gtr.rcuk.ac.uk
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| Project URL: |
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| Further Information: |
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| Organisation Website: |
http://www.qub.ac.uk |