Recent Developments in Materials Science

NKS and the Design of New Materials

Brian Moulton

Brown University

Abstract

My research has been directed toward the design and synthesis of new molecular materials, particularly materials having advantageous physical properties that can be attributed to their inherent nanometer-scale structure. In regards to the design aspect of my research, I am interested in the potential application of NKS methodologies to the prediction of new structures (i.e. network enumeration), and to advancing our understanding of the factors that lead to the assembly of molecules into periodic networks. This talk will discuss the results of some early computational experiments and describe the synthesis of a new class of molecular materials that have fractal structures: coordination polymer gels.