With this Research in Undergraduate Institutions (RUI) award, the Organic and Macromolecular Program supports the research of Dr. Eric Bosch of the Department of Chemistry at Southwest Missouri State University. The research is in the area of crystal and molecular engineering and involves the fabrication of porous coordination networks and hydrogen bonded capsules. Materials designed to selectively extract toxic heavy metals from waste and to serve as cation-specific sensors for toxic heavy metals in industrial waste will be synthesized. Organic and organic-inorganic hybrid materials designed to generate nano-capsules and porous solids (on self-assembly) for the storage of alternative fuels and the encapsulation of small molecules including CFCs will be prepared.
A major impact of this study will be on undergraduate education and training in interdisciplinary research. Undergraduate students will be involved in all aspects of the research from ligand design to synthesis, characterization, complexation, and publication. Undergraduate students will be recruited from SMSU, from smaller rural universities, and from colleges and high schools in Southwest Missouri. The undergraduate participants will be encouraged to make oral and poster presentations at local, regional, and national conferences.
