Functional Assembly Based on Interfacial Supramolecular Interactions
Presented by Prof. Yoshimitsu Itoh
Hosted by Prof. Colin Nuckolls
Abstract:
When a substance functions as a material, interfacial interactions with other substances play a significant role, even though the ratio of the interface to the whole material is very small. Our target is to design and synthesize new molecules that approach material interfaces in a bottom-up manner, which will lead to the development of new functional materials and synthetic methodologies. We are also targeting materials that can change their structure and function dynamically, just like biomolecules, by artificially controlling the interface phenomena using external fields. The topic of the talk includes supramolecular polymerization of photo-aromatizable annulenes [1,2,3], fluorous nanochannel with high desalination capability [4], electroresponsive functional soft materials enabled by electroresponsive dopants [5]. [1] J. Am. Chem. Soc. 2022, 144, 7080; [2] J. Am. Chem. Soc. 2021, 143, 5121; [3] Nat. Commun. 2017, 8, 346; [4] Science 2022, 376, 738; [5] Polym. J. 2023, 10.1038/s41428-023-00805-5.
Bio:
Dr. Yoshimitsu Itoh received a Ph.D. degree for experimental and theoretical investigations of organo-fluorine compounds under the direction of Prof. Koichi Mikami at Tokyo Institute of Technology in 2006. Then, he started his first postdoctoral research focusing on organometallic catalysis with Prof. Eiichi Nakamura at the University of Tokyo. His second postdoctoral research was completed at Columbia University starting from 2007 with Prof. Colin Nuckolls working on self-assembled monolayers and organic field-effect transistors. In 2008, he began his academic career at the University of Tokyo as an assistant professor in the research group of Prof. Takuzo Aida. He was promoted to Lecturer in 2016 and then to Associate Professor in 2018. In 2022, he successfully started his independent research group named Interfacial Molecular Engineering Lab. His current research interest is to engineer the interface between molecules, and between molecules and surfaces to develop innovative materials based on organic chemistry, polymer chemistry, supramolecular chemistry, and electrochemistry.
