The need for complex and sophisticated materials continues to grow as society becomes more advanced. For many chemists, the design of these materials begins by looking towards model molecular systems for the identification of desirable properties and functions. As such, restricting oneself to C, H, N, O, and the other...
One of the greatest challenges in heterogeneous catalysis is the rational design and development of new catalytic systems, due to synthetic limitations in the design of solid catalysts and inhomogeneity of chemical sites at solid surfaces. This obfuscates understanding of catalyst behavior and slows improvements of processes. One approach to...
The continuing increase in atmospheric CO2 to concentrations exceeding 400 ppm has attracted considerable attention from both scientists and policymakers. Industrial fossil fuel consumption generates a significant amount of CO2 emissions, and in particular, energy-intensive molecular separations that require thermal processes, such as distillation, drying, or evaporation, are responsible for...
Biological systems that perform critical reactions like carbon dioxide reduction, water oxidation, or phosphonate ester hydrolysis consist of many separate components with many different degrees of
freedom. While the functionality of pieces of these systems can be replicated synthetically to some
degree, the integration of synthetic catalysts into an overall...
Uranium is a unique, multifaceted element that possesses rich chemistry and promise for challenging reactions. Pressing demands within nuclear stockpile stewardship and the nuclear energy sector call for development of this relatively understudied element. Uranium metal–organic frameworks (U-MOFs), a class of nanoscale hybrid materials, harness the exceptional attributes of uranium...
Uranium is a unique, multifaceted element that possesses rich chemistry and promise for challenging reactions. Pressing demands within nuclear stockpile stewardship and the nuclear energy sector call for development of this relatively understudied element. Uranium metal–organic frameworks (U-MOFs), a class of nanoscale hybrid materials, harness the exceptional attributes of uranium...
Synthesis and characterization of mixed valent molecules which contain two or more metals in different oxidation states is a rich field of chemistry informing fundamental electronic structure and electron transfer theories. Traditionally these studies are concerned with the direct electronic interaction between metals, but recent work on redox non-innocent ligands...
The worldwide community of patients affected by Basal Cell Carcinoma of the skin (BCC) is larger than that of any other cancer. While BCC is rarely lethal, currently available treatment strategies often leave patients with disfiguring scars on their faces, heads, and necks. Moreover, the high recurrence rates of BCC...
Emergent phenomena are phenomena that only arise from the bulk collective, not from individual pieces of that collective. The design of materials which host emergent phenomena can be achieved by controlling the interactions between constituent atoms, ions, or electronic spins in a material, and include materials such as permanent magnets...
A unifying concept across many fields, ranging from chemistry to architecture, is the bottom-up construction of sophisticated structures from simple building blocks. Materials with long-range order allow for consistent, predictable performance throughout the resulting structure. My research focuses on building highly ordered porous materials from atomic level building blocks based...