“Surface Chemistry of Porous Nanocrystals”, Asst. Prof. Carl Brozek, Chemistry
Porous crystalline solids known as metal-organic frameworks (MOFs) possess the highest surface areas and greatest compositional diversity of any class of materials. Recent intense attention has turned towards their use in industry for carbon sequestration, chemical separations, cooling/heating applications, drug delivery, and sensing. The Brozek group seeks to understand the size-dependent optical, magnetic, electronic, and electrochemical behavior of nanoMOFs, in addition to developing a deeper fundamental understanding of the mechanism of nanoMOF synthesis. Finally, the Brozek lab studies the interfacial chemistry of nanoMOFs given their unusual combination of both internal and external surfaces, and because they maintain year-long colloidal stability in the absence of traditional surface-capping ligands.
Our REU student will synthesize novel nanoMOF compositions, nanoMOF-polymer composites, and investigate their size-dependent behavior. Syntheses often require several hours and can be performed in parallel to yield dozens of materials on gram scale. All relevant characterization methods (electrochemical, XRD, spectroscopy) are available in the Brozek lab or at UO.