I am broadly interested in how we can control and manipulate the unique properties of metal ions and clusters within robust, crystalline networks. Catalysts have had a profound impact on the modern world and are involved in the manufacture of more than 80% of all industrial products. Transitioning away from existing technologies—which rely on carbon-emitting fossil fuels or chemical feedstocks—demands the discovery and development of new catalysts.
Chemists will play a central role in inventing these new technologies. Our expertise in making and breaking chemical bonds is crucial for innovating solutions to urgent environmental and industrial challenges. We possess a powerful array of analytical and spectroscopic techniques that allow us to identify and characterize atomic and electronic structures, even of reactive intermediates. This capability enables us to develop mechanistic models to not only optimize the efficiency and sustainability of these new catalysts, but also enhance our fundamental understanding of the physical world.
Industry typically prefers heterogeneous solid-state catalysts, as these tend to be more robust and recyclable—and are therefore considerably cheaper over their lifetimes—than molecular, homogenous materials. However, it is often incredibly difficult to identify and therefore manipulate the specific active-sites that are responsible for catalytic activity in such heterogeneous systems.
In contrast, coordination chemists routinely assemble molecular metal complexes and clusters with exquisite control of atomic- and electronic-structures. While these compounds are typically less durable and harder to separate and recycle, they represent ideal models to test our understanding of new systems.
‘Reticular chemistry’ simply extends the principles of coordination chemistry into polymeric but crystalline networks. My research focusses on how the interesting, and exquisitely tuneable properties of molecular coordination complexes can be translated into more robust coordination polymers (‘metal–organic frameworks’, MOFs). We rely heavily on X-ray and electron crystallography, as well as electrochemistry, spectroscopy and other analytical techniques (such as electron microscopy, gas sorption, thermogravimetric analysis, and magnetometry) to carefully elucidate atomic- and electronic-structures of these well-defined, solid-state materials. These studies allow us to identify and target key structural features that are required for catalytic performance in new materials.
