Dr. Hongcai (Joe) Zhou
Professor
Ph.D., Texas A&M University
Contact
Information:
Department of Chemistry
Texas A&M University
College Station, TX 77842
Phone:
(979) 845-4034
Fax: (979) 845-1595
zhou@chem.tamu.edu
Research topics: Energy Storage for Transportation, Supramolecular Chemistry, Hydrogen and Methane Storage, Clean-Energy-Related Separation, Metal-Organic Frameworks, Mesh-Adjustable Molecular Sieves, Mesoporous Materials, Biomimetic Synthesis.
Nature has demonstrated the extraordinary ability in biological systems to form large and intricate supramolecular arrays from small and simple building blocks giving rise to a wide variety of structures and functions. Coordination-driven self-assembly has received considerable attention and produced numerous examples of chemically interesting and aesthetically appealing self-assembled structures, such as nanoscopic molecular cages, which can act as molecular hosts for a variety of potential applications, such as molecular recognition, drug delivery, and chemical sensing. They can also be applied as molecular reactors for highly selective reactions (such as size- or enantio-selective catalysis and bond activation in a confined space), basic building units for the construction of extended porous materials, and artificial enzymes for reactions performed routinely in nature but are currently difficult to achieve by chemical means (e.g. N2 activation).
Porous solid materials have captured the imagination of materials scientists and offer great promise in applications such as gas storage, separations, and drug delivery. In the last decade, the study of Metal-Organic Frameworks (MOFs) has become one of the most rapidly developing fields of materials chemistry. MOFs are crystalline frameworks consisting of metal ions (or clusters) and organic linkers. In some cases, pores inside an open MOF are stable after the removal of guest molecules (often solvents) and the MOF can be used for the storage of gases such as hydrogen (for hydrogen fuel-cell applications), methane (for application in transportation), and carbon dioxide (for carbon capture and sequestration). Other potential applications of MOFs include gas purification and separation for clean-energy related applications, catalysis, drug-delivery, gas-sensing, optics, and photovoltaics.
"Stabilization of Metal-Organic Frameworks with High Surface Areas by the Incorporation of Mesocavities with Microwindows" Zhao, D.; Yuan, D.; Sun, D.; Zhou, H.-C. J. Am. Chem. Soc. 2009, 131, 9186-9188.
"Preparation and Gas Adsorption Studies of Three Mesh-Adjustable Molecular Sieves with a Common Structure" Ma, S.; Sun, D.; Yuan, D.; Wang, X.-S.; Zhou, H.-C. J. Am. Chem. Soc. 2009, 131, 6445-6451.
"Interconversion between Molecular Polyhedra and Metal-Organic Frameworks" Li, J.-R.; Timmons, D. J.; Zhou, H.-C. J. Am. Chem. Soc. 2009, 131, 6368-6369.
"Further Investigation of the Effect of Framework Catenation on Hydrogen Uptake in Metal-Organic Frameworks" Shengqian Ma, Juergen Eckert, Paul Forster, Ji Yoon, Jong-San Chang, Christopher Collier, John Parise, Hong-Cai Zhou. J. Am. Chem. Soc., 2008, 130, 15896.
"Enhancing H2 Uptake by "Close–Packing" Alignment of Open Copper Sites in Metal-Organic Frameworks" X.-S. Wang, S. Ma, P. M. Forster, D. Yuan, J. Eckert, J. J. Ló pez, B. J. Murphy, J. B. Parise, H.-C. Zhou. Angew. Chem. Int. Ed., 2008, 47, 7263.
"Hydrogen Adsorption in a Highly Stable Porous Rare-Earth Metal-Organic Framework: Sorption Properties and Neutron Diffraction Studies" J. Luo, H. Xu, Y. Liu, Y. Zhao, L. L. Daemen, C. Brown, T. V. Timofeeva, S. Ma, and H.-C. Zhou. J. Am. Chem. Soc., 2008, 130, 9626.
