Chiral Porous Materials for Enantioselective Catalysis and Separations

University Of North Carolina At Chapel Hill, Chapel Hill NC

Investigators

Abstract

This joint award made to University of North Carolina Chapel Hill by the Advanced Materials Program in the Division of Chemistry (MPS) and the Kinetics, Catalysis and Molecular program in the Division of Chemical Transport System (ENG) is to design and synthesize porous chiral crystalline and non-crystalline zeolitic materials based on polymer-metal coordination networks. With this award, Professor Lin will prepare a variety of enantiopure rigid and bridging ligands with different functional groups and topologies from readily available 2,2'-dihydroxy-1,1'-binaphthalene. These chiral porous materials will have tailorable nanometer-sized chiral pockets and functionalities that can be exploited for potential applications in enantioselective separations and catalysis. These materials will have both the advantages offered by heterogeneous catalysts (including facile catalyst separation and recovery, high stability, and ease of handling), and those offered by their homogeneous counterparts (including homogeneity of active sites, high efficiency, reproducibility, selectivity, and controllability, and mild reaction conditions). In addition, training in materials chemistry will be provided to a diversity of students with this award. With this award, porous and non-crystalline zeolite like materials with tailorable nanometer-sized chiral pockets and functionalities will be synthesized from readily available chemicals, and these materials are expected to have applications in enantioselective separations and catalysis for the synthesis of chiral drugs and fine chemicals. In addition, these catalysts will have the advantages of both heterogeneous and homogeneous catalysts.