Transcript Slide 1

Faculty Highlights 2011/2012
Department of Chemistry
Dr CHUI Sin Yin, Stephen
Lecturer
Ph.D., Hong Kong University of Science and Technology, 1999. University of Hong
Kong, 2001-2011.
http://www.chemistry.nus.edu.sg/ourpeople/academic_staff/XXXXX.htm
Email: [email protected]
RESEARCH INTERESTS 1) Advanced X-ray Structural Methods, 2) Porous Solids and 3) Functional Molecules
1) Structural Determination using Powder Diffraction
Homoleptic metal organothiolates or organoacetylides were long realized to have polymeric structures. Owing to the problem of
low solubility in organic solvents and difficulty in obtaining single crystals, I firstly used laboratory powder X-ray diffraction data
to elucidate their unknown 1-D and 2-D structures that correlate with the charge-transporting or luminescent behavior. Their
unique polymeric networks of these metal-organic precursors directed facile formations of respective metal sulfide nanoparticles.
[Cu(SPhOH)]∞ sheet
[Cu3(BTC)2]∞ (MOF)
2) Qualitative and Quantitative Analysis using Powder Diffraction
Besides, X-ray diffraction is a simple and non-destructive analytical tool for crystalline solid materials. i.e. Monitoring solid-solid
transformations, determination of crystallite sizes, identification of unknown phases & quantification of phases in a mixture.
3) Metal-Organic Open Framework
Porous solids is one of emerging areas in materials science and coordination chemistry. Judicious choices of metal ions and
poly-dentate organic ligands will generate a number of novel & robust porous solids called “metal-organic frameworks “ or MOFs.
E.g., copper(II) benzene-1,3,5-tricarboxylates (or HKUST-1) showed practical applications in gaseous separation (H2, CO2, CH4),
and catalysis. Future direction is to explore the pore micro-environment, that stereochemically catalyzes useful reactions.
4) Structure-Property Relation of Functional Molecules
New molecular materials exhibiting interesting solid-state properties such as charge-transport, magnetism, ferroelectricity,
vapoluminescence, as well as liquid crystallinity could be structurally investigated by X-ray diffraction method coupled with
Rietveld structural analysis and refinement under normal or in-situ variable-temperature condition. In this aspect, any sort of
formal or informal interdisciplinary collaboration or discussion in a local or worldwide level is highly welcomed.
REPRESENTATIVE PUBLICATIONS (Please refer to my publication list in departmental webpage)
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