Frontier Research Institute for Interdisciplinary Sciences
Tohoku University

Molecular assembly refers to the phenomenon in which molecules come together to form new structures. Such molecular assemblies can exhibit properties that cannot be achieved by the component molecules alone. For example, enzymes and other proteins, constructed through complex amino acid sequences, employ flexible, multi-point recognition spaces to capture the desired substrates from among diverse types of molecules in biological environments. On the other hand, although research on artificial solid-state materials has been advancing rapidly, it remains challenges to replicate the following capabilities demonstrated by proteins: (1) creating spaces with structural flexibility, (2) constructing multi-point recognition spaces, and (3) elucidating the relationship between the structures of component molecules and the properties of resulting materials.

As one promising solution to this challenge, I am working on the development of novel porous materials. By connecting polyhedral molecules as nodes and flexible organic molecules as linkers, I fabricate network materials with nm-sized pores for capturing organic molecules. Using an organic synthetic approach, I selectively synthesize the substructures required for molecular recognition. The substructures enable us to elucidate the relationship between the structures of the component molecules and the molecular recognition properties. Then, the substructures are subsequently assembled into solid-state network materials. These sequences from fundamental chemistry to material sciences will pave the way for practical applications, such as highly efficient detection of trace pollutants and the transport of bioactive molecules.