Molecular Foundry Seminar

"Non-Covalent Synthesis of Functional Supramolecular Systems"

Professor Bert Meijer, Department of Chemistry, Eindhoven University of Technology, Holland
Tuesday, September 27th at 1:30 pm, Bldg. 66 - Auditorium

View the Foundry Seminar Schedule

Abstract:

The intriguing prospects of molecular electronics, nanotechnology, biomaterials, and the aim to close the gap between synthetic and biological molecular systems are important ingredients to study the cooperative action of molecules in the self-assembly towards functional complex molecular systems. The design and synthesis of well-defined supramolecular architectures requires a balanced choice between covalent synthesis and the self-assembly of the fragments prepared. The current self-assembly processes are primarily controlled by solvent, temperature or concentration. For synthetic chemists, the non-covalent synthesis of these supramolecular architectures is regarded as one of the most challenging objectives in science: How far can we push chemical self-assembly and can we get control over the kinetic instabilities of the non-covalent architectures made? How can we go from self-assembly to self-organization? In the lecture, a few outlines of these challenges will be given using a number of examples out of our own laboratories, with the aim to come to new strategies for multi-step non-covalent synthesis of functional supramolecular systems.