Project description
Tiny molecular cages and their diverse occupants are 'attracting' a lot of attention
3D self-assembly processes are ubiquitous in nature but highly challenging to replicate artificially. Over the last three decades, research into self-assembling nanoscale 'cages' that can host guests in their interiors has been growing tremendously, and the possibilities are seemingly endless in terms of both materials combinations and applications. The ambitious EU-funded MMQIP project will focus on magnetic properties and effects in such systems with an eye on information storage, quantum computation and molecular spintronics. The team will develop molecule-based magnetic coordination cages from which they plan to realise all sorts of multifunctional materials thanks to an intensive experimental and theoretical campaign.
Objective
The vision is to build molecule-based magnetic coordination cages and their related 3D frameworks possessing permanent cavities capable of hosting magnetic, redox- and photo-active guests for the construction of controllable multifunctional materials with potential application in information storage, quantum computation and molecular spintronics.
The specific objectives are:
(1) To build coordination cages and molecule-based framework materials possessing permanent cavities with both diamagnetic and paramagnetic metal centres.
(2) To employ theoretical modelling to predict the appropriate host-guest combinations.
(3) To employ solution-based techniques, particularly NMR spectroscopy, to examine the host-guest chemistry of the diamagnetic cages and frameworks, in tandem with theory to inform what paramagnetic host-guest capsules and frameworks should be targeted.
(4) To spectroscopically investigate the solution host-guest behaviour of paramagnetic cages.
(5) To construct empty magnetic coordination capsules and molecule-based materials, to elucidate their solid-state structures via single crystal X-ray crystallography, and to investigate their magnetic behavior with a battery of techniques.
(6) To examine the magnetic behaviour of cages and framework materials containing redox-active/radical linker ligands in the host framework.
(7) To examine the magnetic behaviour of cages and frameworks encapsulating redox/photo-active/magnetic guests.
(8) To examine the magnetic properties of cages and frameworks encapsulating guests that can accept numerous electrons and to monitor the effects that a variable number of electric charges placed on the guest has on the static and dynamic magnetic properties of the host.
(9) To explore the controlled switching (on/off) of the spin-spin interactions between host and guest via the charge state of the guest.
(10) To computationally model all magnetic and spectroscopic data, and to elucidate magneto-structural correlations.
Fields of science
Programme(s)
Funding Scheme
MSCA-IF-EF-ST - Standard EFCoordinator
EH8 9YL Edinburgh
United Kingdom