Abstract:

In this lecture, I will discuss how to create Metal- and Covalent Organic Frameworks with topological and superconducting charge carriers. I will cross the boundaries between chemistry and physics in the solid state and show how the tunable porosity of these materials can be employed for targeted properties in energy conversion and transport. This is done in two case studies.

In the first part, I present a strategy to engineer superconductivity through an effective use of the pore space in a Covalent Triazine Framework, CTF-0. I analyse the effects of doping CTF-0 with Li and Na, the two lightest alkali metals, and describe the performance of the decorated frameworks as superconductors. I will show how CTFs and kindred porous frameworks can be a hub for an exciting new class of materials, for which tunable porosity gives control over superconducting properties.In the second part, I will discuss my recent discovery of a class of topological Metal-Organic Framework (tMOF)  semimetals. 

A rapidly developing field, topological materials contain exotic states in which charge carriers move like massless particles along the surface of the crystal. The extreme mobilities of these topological charge carriers have been shown to overcome transport limitations in catalysis, which results in spectacular turnover frequencies. Moreover, topological states are protected by the bulk symmetry of the crystal, which means they are robust against classical factors in heterogeneous catalysis, such as surface defects, and emerge irrespective of surface termination or crystal morphology. The tMOFs present a first class of materials with protected states at interior surfaces, and offer control over the specific surface area over which the topological charge carriers move.

Hosted by Jose Giner, Laboratory of Inorganic Materials and Catalysis