“Sustainable Materials & Supramolecular Chemistry”, Prof. Darren Johnson, Chemistry
We use supramolecular chemistry as a tool to approach a variety of problems in organic, materials, and environmental chemistry. Research topics include: (i) developing a supramolecular design strategy for synthesizing complex organic macrocycles and 3D cages; (ii) molecular recognition of environmentallyrelevant anions and biologically-relevant small molecules/ions, and (iii) fabricating sensor devices that incorporate ion and molecule recognition agents for the selective detection of analytes of interest in the environment, agriculture, and human health.
Our REU student will apply the principles of self-assembly, molecule/ion recognition, and organic/ materials synthesis to prepare new molecules and devices. A representative project could involve first learning the principles around designing a supramolecular receptor for a given class of anions (e.g., perfluoroalkyl sulfonates, a subset of PFAS), then synthesizing that target “host”. Subsequent studies could then investigate the physical organic chemistry of the host-guest complexes and/or the materials techniques to fabricate, calibrate, and test devices that incorporate this host for the capture, release, and/or transformation of these species.