Ph.D. Thesis
Title Supramolecular Organometallic Architecture
via Self-Assembly
Advisers Prof. Peter J. Stang, Chemistry Department, University
of Utah
Thesis Committee Prof. W.G. Bentrude, Organic Chemistry, Prof.
C. J. Burrows, Bioorganic Chemistry, Prof. J. Simons, Theoretical
Chemistry, and Prof. P. F. Crain, Medicinal Chemistry, University
of Utah
Essay
The formation of discrete supramolecular entities driven
and held together through metal coordination has remained an intense
area of study for the past decade. An attractive feature of this methodology
is the rational design of diverse structures of predetermined shape,
size, and functionality based on symmetry considerations.1
Creating new supramolecular architectures tests and refines our understanding
of the fundamental principles of molecular self-organization.
Typically comprising a backbone of multi-dentate aromatic
bridging ligands joined through transition metals, these inorganic
nanostructures have demonstrated promise as a new class of functional
receptor molecules. When considering that metal-containing macrocycles
often possess magnetic, photophysical, and/or redox properties not
accessible to purely organic systems, such studies in basic host-guest
chemistry have broad implications for technologies such as molecular
sensing, separations, and catalysis.
This dissertation presents several new approaches for
the rational design and effective synthesis of metal-containing supramolecular
species in the form of both discrete and infinite, two- and three-dimensional
nanoscopic architectures. The shape, size, and functionality of the
resultant structures were pre-determined by the chemical information
encoded into the molecular subunits, from which the assemblies were
formed.
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