A studentship is available in the School of Chemistry, The University of Manchester to develop a novel family of multifunctional metal-organic frameworks (MOFs). MOFs are intensively studied crystalline nanoporous materials formed by the connection of metal-centred inorganic clusters using organic linkers. MOFs can be tuned through chemistry to produce novel materials that can be tailored for a variety of specific applications.1 This project aims to construct a novel family of multifunctional MOFs through the connection of highly complex polymetallic inorganic clusters by organic linkers. Such complex polymetallic inorganic clusters have never been incorporated into the framework of porous MOFs. We have successfully started to use this approach to form spectacular nano-scale assemblies and one-dimensional MOFs2,3,4 where molecular nanomagnets are incorporated as the complex polymetallic inorganic cluster unit. Such multifunctional materials have potentially exciting magnetic, sorption and other properties, and allow for combination of these properties to produce novel functionality. This project will involve a mixture of synthetic inorganic/ materials chemistry, X-ray diffraction studies (involving collaboration with researchers at the Advanced Light Source, Berkeley, USA and Diamond Light Source, UK) and physical characterisation including magnetic studies and adsorption measurements, and will provide an excellent platform from which to develop a future research career.
References:
1. Metal-Organic Frameworks, Chem. Review, 2012, 112, 673-1268.
2. G. F. S. Whitehead, et al., Chem. Commun., 2013, 49, 7195-7197.
3. G. F. S. Whitehead, et al., Chem. Sci. 2014, 5, 235-239.
4. G. F. S. Whitehead, et al., Angew. Chem. Int. Ed., 2013, 52, 9932-9935.