This project aims to use metal-organic clusters that approximate the shape of simple polygons and which can be self-assembled using well-known geometric constraints and appropriate multifunctional ligands, thereby building discrete and infinite structures based upon faceted polyhedra. The goals are to develop protocols for the rational design of a new generation of self-assembled discrete and infinite nanostructures based upon molecular polygons, and to characterize these novel nanostructures in terms of structure, stability, chemical reactivity, and porosity.
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These nanostructured materials will have broad impact in a numbeer of applications areas that include sensors, green chemistry and pharmaceuticals. With the University of South Florida being one of the largest urban universities in the U.S., its exceptional ethnic diversity will provide broad educational opportuities, especially in areas of undergraduate education.
