Graduate Student, Hupp Group

Synthesis and Characterization of Molecular Materials for Molecular Separations and Catalysis

My research focuses on the synthesis and characterization of novel Re-based macrocycles. Octahedral Re-based corner units direct a square geometry for tetrameric macrocycles, allowing for the synthesis of square shaped molecules with highly tailorable sized cavities. Molecular square materials demonstrate sieving behavior such that molecules larger than the intrasquare cavity are excluded from diffusion though a thin film of squares. By depositing a thin film of molecular squares on an electrode, we are able to electrochemically detect the exclusion of a large molecule from the square cavities.

I have worked primarily on the synthesis of porphyrinic molecular squares which are functionalized with hydroxyl substituents that can be interfacially polymerized to form rigid, free-standing polymeric films that possess the porosity of the square monomer, but not the solubility of the single molecule species. These materials show excellent size selectivity and enhanced transport rates when compared to non-polymeric films with similar pore sizes.

Recently, I have been working on characterization of these materials by wide angle x-ray scattering (WAXS) in collaboration with researchers at Argonne National Lab. Due to the electron dense rhenium atoms on on the corner posts of each square, WAXS can be used to probe Re-Re distances within the square, allowing us to better understand solution structures of these large macrocycles.