Porous, structurally well-defined anionic nanocapsules with varying charge density: interactions with their environment and with each other

Lehigh University, Bethlehem PA

Investigators

Abstract

Professor Tianbo Liu of the Department of Chemistry at Lehigh University is suppoted by the Inorganic, Bioinorganic, and Organometallic Chemistry Program to participate in an international collaboration with Professor Achim Müller of the University of Bielefeld in Germany through the NSF-DFG Program. The joint research project explores novel, structurally well-defined, porous anionic nanocapsules in solution. This is an exciting new area at the intersection of inorganic chemistry and physical chemistry. The team will develop rational methods to modify giant, spherical molybdenum-oxide based nanocapsules so that charge densities and internal/external functionalities can be accurately adjusted for solution/assembly experiments. The collaborators plan to use various physical techniques to understand the attraction between anionic capsules and small cations, as well as the response of the nanocapsules to changes in external conditions. This study will facilitate the understanding of strong attractive forces between charged nanoparticles and self-assembly processes in general. The research will have a broad impact on other fields, such as materials science, synthetic chemistry, physics and biology. Professors Liu and Müller will organize a number of important international symposia to extensively communicate their results with leading scientists from various countries. Dissemination is also planned via articles in popular science magazines. Postdoctoral associates and graduate and undergraduate students will be involved in enriching technical and cultural exchanges between the US and Germany.