Understanding and Controlling the Self Assembly of Nanoscale Polyoxometalate Clusters
Lead Research Organisation:
University of Glasgow
Department Name: School of Chemistry
Abstract
Nanoscale polyoxometalate clusters are molecules of metal oxide 10,000 times thinner than a human hair (a common metal oxide is rust) and they provide arguably an unrivalled class of molecules displaying a wide range of very interesting physical properties (they can be used as molecular machines to 'help' one molecule turn into another very quickly without waste, they can change colour in light and be used to store information like dyes on a DVD, be used like a battery to store electricity and even as very small magnets). This is because they can be thought of being based on a common set of building blocks, or lego bricks, that can be put together in many ways to build different types of molecular objects in 'one step'. Although these molecules are large and contain many thousands of building blocks, the way they build themselves is not understood and it is not possible to design the molecules using a blueprint or any other plan. Also these molecules are fragile and easily fall apart.In this research we will develop an approach to look at the 'one step' construction of these very large clusters with the aim of working out exactly how they are built. To do this we will need to adopt a number of different styles of detective work, from examining the structure of these molecules by making them more stable by wrapping them in a type of plastic, to trapping the individual lego bricks before they assemble into the nanoscale cluster. We will do this by weighing the clusters and building blocks present, and by measuring their molecular fingerprint when we make the clusters. We will also design different plans and test them by trying to predict the shape of the cluster before we make them. We will also look at the clusters using an extremely powerful microscope so we can accurately make this comparison.
Organisations
People |
ORCID iD |
Leroy Cronin (Principal Investigator) |
Publications
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Akutagawa T
(2011)
Hydrogen-bonded assemblies of two-electron reduced mixed-valence [XMo12O40] (X = P and Si) with p-phenylenediamines.
in Inorganic chemistry
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Boulay AG
(2012)
Morphogenesis of polyoxometalate cluster-based materials to microtubular network architectures.
in Chemical communications (Cambridge, England)
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Boyd T
(2017)
POMzites: A Family of Zeolitic Polyoxometalate Frameworks from a Minimal Building Block Library
in Journal of the American Chemical Society
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Boyd T
(2011)
Investigating cation binding in the polyoxometalate-super-crown [P8W48O184]40-.
in Chemistry (Weinheim an der Bergstrasse, Germany)
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Cameron JM
(2016)
Investigating the Transformations of Polyoxoanions Using Mass Spectrometry and Molecular Dynamics.
in Journal of the American Chemical Society
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Chen J
(2017)
Design and Performance of Rechargeable Sodium Ion Batteries, and Symmetrical Li-Ion Batteries with Supercapacitor-Like Power Density Based upon Polyoxovanadates
in Advanced Energy Materials
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Chen JJ
(2015)
High-Performance Polyoxometalate-Based Cathode Materials for Rechargeable Lithium-Ion Batteries.
in Advanced materials (Deerfield Beach, Fla.)
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Chen W
(2013)
0D to 1D Switching of Hybrid Polyoxometalate Assemblies at the Nanoscale by Using Molecular Control.
in ChemPlusChem
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Cooper GJ
(2011)
Osmotically driven crystal morphogenesis: a general approach to the fabrication of micrometer-scale tubular architectures based on polyoxometalates.
in Journal of the American Chemical Society
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Cronin L
(2012)
From serendipity to design of polyoxometalates at the nanoscale, aesthetic beauty and applications.
in Chemical Society reviews
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Endo D
(2012)
Molecular Motions and Hydrogen-Bonding Networks in ( o -Aminoanilinium)-(Crown Ethers)-[PMo12O40]4- Crystals
in Bulletin of the Chemical Society of Japan
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Fujibayashi M
(2016)
Exploring the solvent mediated assembly and redox activity of a POM-organic hybrid [Na(SO3)2(PhPO3)4MoV4MoVI14O49]5.
in New journal of chemistry = Nouveau journal de chimie
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Gabb D
(2012)
Organic-soluble lacunary {M2(P2W15)2} polyoxometalate sandwiches showing a previously unseen aßßa isomerism.
in Dalton transactions (Cambridge, England : 2003)
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Gao J
(2012)
Assembly of molecular "layered" heteropolyoxometalate architectures.
in Angewandte Chemie (International ed. in English)
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Gao J
(2011)
Self-assembly of a family of macrocyclic polyoxotungstates with emergent material properties
in Chemical Science
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Hutin M
(2011)
Controlling the Molecular Assembly of Polyoxometalates from the Nano to the Micron Scale: Molecules to Materials
in Israel Journal of Chemistry
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Jing B
(2013)
Polyoxometalate macroion induced phase and morphology instability of lipid membrane
in Chemical Science
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Lydon C
(2012)
Nanoscale growth of molecular oxides: assembly of a {V6} double cubane between two lacunary {P2W15} polyoxometalates.
in Angewandte Chemie (International ed. in English)
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Lydon C
(2012)
Directed assembly of nanoscale Co(II)-substituted {Co9[P2W15]3} and {Co14[P2W15]4} polyoxometalates.
in Chemical communications (Cambridge, England)
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MacDonald L
(2018)
Selective hydrogenation of nitroarenes using an electrogenerated polyoxometalate redox mediator.
in Chemical communications (Cambridge, England)
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Miras H
(2012)
Sulfite Anions as Structure-Directing Templates for the Engineering of Modular Polyoxometalates
in European Journal of Inorganic Chemistry
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Miras H
(2011)
Direct Synthesis and Mass Spectroscopic Observation of the {M 40 } Polyoxothiometalate Wheel
in European Journal of Inorganic Chemistry
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Miras HN
(2010)
Controlling transformations in the assembly of polyoxometalate clusters: {Mo11V7}, {Mo17V8} and {Mo72V30}.
in Chemical communications (Cambridge, England)
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Miras HN
(2012)
Engineering polyoxometalates with emergent properties.
in Chemical Society reviews
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Miras HN
(2012)
Oscillatory template exchange in polyoxometalate capsules: a ligand-triggered, redox-powered, chemically damped oscillation.
in Journal of the American Chemical Society
Description | New inorganic clusters that can have potential applications in materials and electronics, an increased knowledge on how some techniques like MS and NMR can be used to predict / decipher their structures and formation processes. |
Exploitation Route | The development of MS and NMR techniques for this type of molecules is of high interest for people working in the field of inorganic chemistry, but also for industries and academics wishing to develop new analytical techniques for materials and nanoelectronics starting materials. |
Sectors | Aerospace Defence and Marine Chemicals Electronics Energy Pharmaceuticals and Medical Biotechnology |
URL | http://www.croninlab.com |
Description | The clusters discovered and the understanding of their formation generated by this work have been used in a range of different research areas such as catalysis, nanofabrication and in biological-like environments |
Sector | Chemicals |