Dr. Banglin Chen, Chemistry Department, University of Texas - Pan American, is supported by the Inorganic, Bioinorganic, and Organometallic Chemistry Program of the Chemistry Division for the preparation of porous hybrid materials and for an evaluation of their ability to selectively recognize small molecules. Microporous solids are known to form from metal bicarboxylates and rigid diammine spacers. A series of these materials will be prepared using a variety of carboxylates, dimmines, and metals in order to obtain a series of systems with different pore sizes. These will be evaluated for their ability to interact with small molecules. Applications will be sought in small molecule separations, purification and sensing, in chiral recognition and separation, and in asymmetric heterogeneous catalysis. The main focus will be on several industrially challenging separations and purifications such as N2/CH4, CO/H2, O2/N2, p-xylene/C8-aromatics, and separation of light olefins.
Materials with controlled pore sizes can selectively include and/or exclude small molecules based on the subtle size and shape differences. This allows very similar molecules to be separated. The compounds prepared in this study will be designed to carry out difficult, industrially important separations and to catalyze in a selective fashion reactions of similar molecules. These materials have the advantages of being recoverable, reusable and environmentally friendly. UTPA is a Hispanic Serving Institution. Thus, this project will provide exceptional educational opportunities for minority students.
