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Research Interests |
My research interests are focused on the following areas of physical chemistry, materials chemistry, and polymer chemistry:
- the synthesis of ordered nanoporous and nanostructured materials with tailored structure, pore size, framework composition and surface properties using approaches based on the supramolecular templating (primarily using block copolymer templates), inverse replication, and controlled polymerization;
- the application of nanoporous and nanostructured materials as selective adsorbents, nanoreactors, hosts or templates for nanostructures, and immobilization media for biomolecules;
- the investigation of properties of nanostructured and nanoporous materials, and properties of substances confined in nanopores;
- the development of methods for the characterization of nanoporous and nanostructured solids.
The synthesis of ordered nanoporous materials with tailored pore structure, pore size, surface properties, and framework compositions has been the focal point of my research over the last several years. The synthesis strategies particularly useful in the synthesis of well-defined nanoporous materials are: (i) the supramolecular templating by micelles of surfactants or block copolymers (soft templates), and (ii) inverse replication of nanostructured hard templates, such as ordered mesoporous silicas. These two approaches allow one to design a wide variety of well-defined nanoporous materials, including oxides (silica, alumina, titania and many others), organosilicas, and carbons. My research is focused primarily on the development of better foundations for the synthesis of nanostructured and nanoporous materials by design, and on the synthesis of nanostructures of particular interest, such as nanoporous carbons, nanoporous high-temperature ceramics, and inorganic/polymer nanocomposites. I am also interested in exploring applications of ordered nanoporous materials as hosts for nanoobjects, and as immobilization media for biomolecules for catalysis, sensing and pharmaceutical applications.
The ability to synthesize well-defined nanoporous materials creates unique opportunities for the exploration of properties of substances in nanospaces of well-defined dimensions and geometries (such as cylinders, spheres, gyroids). The properties of interest include freezing, melting, glass transition, liquid-crystalline behavior, and capillary condensation and evaporation. These studies provide a fundamental insight into properties of substances in nanospaces. Moreover, the thorough understanding of properties of substances in confined nanoscale media will open new opportunities in elucidating structures of nanoporous media on the basis of physical properties of substances confined in them. In particular, I plan to continue my work on the development of methods for an accurate determination of the specific surface area, pore size distribution, pore entrance size, phase composition, and for characterization of surface properties of nanoporous materials. I also plan to explore properties of well-defined inorganic/polymer nanocomposites, including their mechanical properties, thermal stability, swelling behavior, sorption properties, and response to stimuli.
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