9400288 Teo This award, made in the Advanced Materials and Procesing Program will focus on the design, synthesis and characterization of crystalline, hybrid inorganic polymers with organic spacers (IPOS). Typically the inorganic polymers are anionic metal-ligand coordination polymers such as cadmium thiocyanate and the organic spacers are cationic host-guest complexes such as alkali metal crown ether complexes. The crown ether-alkali metal complex not only serves as a spacer, but will also control crystal packing. By controlling crystal symmetry, nonlinear optical properties will be engineered into the IPOS crystals. The ultimate goal of the research is to better understand the underlying principles of crystallization and the origin of their physical properties. The choice of IPOS series will allow concomitant but separate molecular and crystal engineering. This research will pursue a systematic study of the synthesis and structure of new classes of IPOS crystals leading to the development of materials of technological importance as well as the discovery of new fabrication methods and new models for crystallization processes.
