Biography
Biography: Michal Lahav
Abstract
Coordination-based polymers and metal-organic frameworks (MOFs) have been explored since their serendipity discovery by a Berlin color-maker named Diesbach at the beginning of the 18th century. These intriguing materials combine metal-coordination chemistry with the often complex formation of large supramolecular structures and may exhibit optical, catalytic, redox and magnetic functions derived from their metallic elements. Such materials are currently generated by the dozens in a gold-rush-type search for unique properties mainly related to the storage and release of energy (e.g., hydrocarbons, dihydrogen) at ambient temperatures and pressures. How the molecular components, metal salts and experimental conditions control the dimensions, shapes and homogeneity of these coordination-based materials is barely known. Moreover, the formation of chiral MOFs and MOFs confined on surfaces is especially challenging. We demonstrated the controlled generation of various homogeneous MOF structures from solution and on surfaces. Using a versatile ligand system that binds late-transition metals in a defined manner, we address various challenging issues related to the mechanism underlying the formation of such homogeneous structures at the (sub)-microscale, their magnetic and electronic properties and other functions. These new chiral materials have been characterized by a series of complementary methods, including electron microscopy, X-ray powder diffraction, atomic force microscopy and synchrotron X-ray reflectivity.
