Metal oxides—the workhorses behind microchips, hard disks, and sunscreen—are usually made as solid, inflexible materials that require high temperatures and resist fine-tuning. This group has instead turned them into programmable molecules, called polyoxometalate clusters, that can be assembled with atomic precision. The problem is that conventional metal oxides are essentially fixed once made; you cannot easily tweak their structure or properties. By controlling how these molecular clusters build themselves—including designing host-guest systems that are electronically active—the researchers can now link the molecular scale directly to devices and systems. If successful, this platform grant will let the group take risky, cross-cutting projects that standard funding cannot support. The potential payoff is a new class of programmable electronic materials, hybrid organic-inorganic molecules, and continuous-flow manufacturing processes for nanoscale clusters. This could transform how we make everything from computer chips to chemical catalysts, replacing rigid, high-temperature processing with precise, room-temperature assembly. The work is fundamental science—understanding how to design and scale these molecular building blocks—but with a clear path to trillion-dollar industries.
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Metal oxide based technology is worth over a trillion dollars per year with applications in microchips, hard disks, displays, glass coatings, sun screen, chemical catalysts, and superconductors. In almost all instances the metal oxide based materials are comprised of 'solid-state' infinite materials which require high temperature processing and can be difficult to modify systematically. We have been working on a class of molecular metal oxides called polyoxometalates (POMs). Research in molecular metal oxides or polyoxometalate clusters (POMs) provides an unrivalled structural diversity of molecules, displaying a wide range of properties. During the past 5 years we have transformed the area demonstrating how to control the assembly of the clusters, including the precise design of host-guest systems that are intrinsically electronically active. Now, due to our researcher critical mass and expertise, and state of the art single crystal X-ray diffraction using microsource and area detectors, cryospray and ion mobility mass spectrometry, spectroscopy, flow systems, microsystems, and electrochemical measurements we are the leading group worldwide capable of developing designed approaches to producing clusters and building blocks that can link the molecular with the nanoscale, microscale and device / system level using a programmable approach in the following areas: (i) electronic materials; (ii) hybrid organic inorganic molecules and materials; (iii) emergent materials and structures; (iv) continuous flow discovery, processing and scale up nanoscale clusters. Platform funding will allow us to maintain critical mass, embark on risky cross-cutting projects that are not normally possible using responsive mode funding, allow continuity. These aspects are particularly important here since during the last few years the group has demonstrated a unique research philosophy developing new synthetic areas, fundamental ideas, techniques, and unique research approaches including embracing important disciplines needed to advance the chemical research (e.g. chemical engineering, optical physics, electrical engineering and so on). Although these projects are highly focussed on specific areas, the group has become highly integrated and more successful as a result of this integration but there is a limit to which individual projects can be used to integrate the group. The key aspect of the Platform grant will be the additional integration, adding value way beyond what would be possible through standard responsive mode funding of smaller grants, as well as helping a highly integrated and large research group funded by many different grants remain integrated, responsive, and dynamic. We will also use the Platform mechanism to develop the people funded within the group encouraging them to think critically, develop independence, a new ideas and approaches that exploit the unique mix of projects, expertise developing their careers as academics, industrialists and experts able to link fundamental with applied aspects.
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