Synthesis of hybrid nanostructured materials
Our approach is to focus on the organization of a discrete number of chemical units into higher ordered structures and the fundamental forces that bind these units together. We use bio-inspired organic templates such as nucleotides (e.g. guanosine monophosphate) or vitamins (e.g. folic acid) that can be co-assembled in the presence of silica precursors resulting in hybrid (organic and inorganic) nanostructured materials.
These show structural order at both atomic and meso scales. Properties of the organic template (e.g. chirality) can be transcribed onto the silica wall, whilst this gives structural support back to the organic template. We perform structural characterisation by electron microscopy and X-ray diffraction.
We aim to determine how the properties of the supramolecular templates (e.g. optical properties) are affected by its ordering within the inorganic silica.