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Current Activities

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Research topics: Energy Storage for Transportation, Supramolecular Chemistry, Hydrogen and Methane Storage, Carbon Dioxide Capture, 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. For example, nanoscopic molecular cages, can act as molecular hosts for a variety of potential applications, namely molecular recognition, drug delivery, and chemical sensing. They can also be applied as molecular reactors for highly selective reactions (Ex. 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.

Porous solid materials have captured the imagination of materials scientists and offer great promise in gas storage, separations, and drug delivery applications. 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, and gas-sensing. Recently, Porous Polymer Networks (PPNs) have also become a research topic in our lab.

Biomimetic Approach to Construct MOF with High Hydrogen Adsorption Affinity	Isoreticular Series MOF for Hydrogen Storage
Hendecahedral molecular cage	PPN with High Surface Area

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Selected Publications

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Lu, W.; Sculley, J.; Yuan, D.; Krishna, R.; Wei, Z.; Zhou, H.-C. Polyamine-Tethered Porous Polymer Networks for Carbon Dioxide Capture from Flue Gas. Angew. Chem. Int. Ed. 2012, 51,7480-7484.

Lu, W.; Yuan, D.; Makal, T. A.; Li, J.-R.; Zhou, H.-C. A Highly Porous and Robust (3,3,4)-Connected Metal-Organic Framework Assembled with a 90-Bridging-Angle-Embedded Octa-carboxylate Ligand. Angew. Chem. Int. Ed. 2012, 51, 1580-1584.

Zhou, H.-C., Long, J.; Yaghi, O. Introduction to Metal-Organic Frameworks. Chem. Rev. 2012, 112, 673-674.

Li, J.-R.; Sculley, J.; Zhou, H.-C. Metal-Organic Frameworks for Separations. Chem. Rev. 2012, 112, 869-932.

Park, J.; Yuan, D.; Pham, K. T.*; Li , J.-R.; Yakovenko, A.; Zhou, H. -C. Reversible Alteration of CO2 Adsorption upon Photochemical or Thermal Treatment in a Metal-Organic Framework. J. Am. Chem. Soc. 2012, 134, 99-102.

Sun, L.-B.; Li, J.-R.; Park, J.; Zhou, H.-C. Cooperative Template-Directed Assembly of Mesoporous Metal-Organic Frameworks. J. Am. Chem. Soc. 2012, 134, 126-129.

Lu W.; Yuan D.; Sculley J.; Zhao D.; Krishna R.; Zhou, H.-C. Sulfonate-Grafted Porous Polymer Networks for Preferential CO2 Adsorption at Low Pressure. J. Am. Chem. Soc. 2011, 133, 18126-18129.

Yuan, D.; Lu, W.; Zhao, D.; Zhou, H.-C. Highly Stable Porous Polymer Networks with Exceptionally High Gas-Uptake Capacities. Adv. Mater. 2011, 23, 3723-3725.

Zhao, D.; Tan, S. W.; Yuan, D. Q.; Lu, W. G.; Rezenom, Y. H.; Jiang, H. L.; Wang, L. Q.; Zhou, H. C. Surface Functionalization of Porous Coordination Nanocages Via Click Chemistry and Their Application in Drug Delivery. Adv. Mater. 2011, 23, 90-93.

Yuan, D.; Zhao, D.; Timmons, D.J.; Zhou, H.-C. A Stepwise Transition From Microporosity to Mesoporosity in Metal-Organic Frameworks by Thermal Treatment. Chem. Sci, 2011, 2, 103-106.

Li, J.-R.; Zhou, H.-C. Bridging-Ligand-Substitution Strategy for the Preparation of Metal-Organic Polyhedra. Nature Chem. 2010, 2, 893-898.

Li, J.-R.; Yakovenko, A.; Lu, W.; Timmons, D. J.; Zhuang, W.; Yuan, D.; Zhou, H.-C. Ligand Bridging-Angle-Driven Assembly of Molecular Architectures Based on Quadruply Bonded Mo-Mo Dimers. J. Am. Chem. Soc. 2010, 132, 17599-17610.

Zhao, D.; Timmons, D. J.; Yuan, D. Q.; Zhou, H. C. Tuning the Topology and Functionality of Metal-Organic Frameworks by Ligand Design. Accounts Chem. Res. 2010, 44, 123-133.

Yuan, D.; Zhao, D.; Sun, D.; Zhou H.-C. An Isoreticular Series of Metal-Organic Frameworks with Dendritic Hexa-Carboxylate Ligands and Exceptionally High Gas Uptake Capacity. Angew. Chem. Int. Ed. 2010, 49, 5357-5361.