This award in the Inorganic, Bioinorganic and Organometallic Chemistry program supports the development of a novel method of synthesizing new materials, which display unusual physical properties and morphologies, through the use of evolved RNA catalysts. This project aims at a deeper mechanistic understanding of RNA-catalyzed materials synthesis, and endeavors to exploit RNA to search for other advanced functional materials. The goals of the project are to: determine mechanistic details for RNA-catalyzed metal-metal and metal-oxygen bond formation; correlate RNA primary and possibly secondary structure with solid-state inorganic materials structure; and develop new in vitro selection methodologies for evolving new electrocatalyst materials.
An RNA evolutionary selection process will be used to isolate RNA sequences that catalyze the formation of solid-state materials, with potential applications to new catalytic materials for hydrogen storage, methanol oxidation, fuel cells and magnetic devices and sensors. Graduate students and undergraduates will be trained in research methods at the interface of inorganic chemistry and molecular biology.
