PME Special Seminar: Molecular nano-architectures for energy and electronics

Molecules are versatile building blocks for making functional soft materials that complement inorganic materials. Since the discovery of conducting polymers, organic materials have promised great applications in energy conversion, electronics, and chemical sensing. At the core of the research is the design of organic materials on both molecular- and nano-scale. In this talk, I will present several types of molecular nano-architectures for energy conversion and electronic devices. First, I will introduce molecular contortion as a new design motif for novel electronic materials. These molecules include twisted molecular ribbons and conjugated macrocycles. Second, I will introduce a new approach to synthesizing large-scale monolayer two-dimensional polymers. These 2D polymers can serve as the thinnest membranes for osmotic power generation. Furthermore, I will show the programmed assembly of organic-inorganic 2D heterostructures with monolayer precision. This approach allows for integrating molecular building blocks into layered nanomaterials for making ultrathin electronic devices.