Theme: All-Inorganic Polyhedral Nanoarchitectures: Bridging the Gap Between Chemical Research and Education
Speaker: Dr. Aleksandar Kondinski （KU Leuven）
Host: Ye Zhou, Research Scientist
Location: Conference Room 201, Fundamental Experiment Building, the South Campus of SZU
Time: 14:00, January 8, 2019

Talk abstract:

Molecular polyhedra represent a chemical fascination for several decades. The interest in this area has been significantly prompted by the discovery of the C60 and the related fullerenes by Kroto and coworkers. All-inorganic polyoxometalates (POMs) which are often compared to fullerenes, represent a class of metal-oxo nanoclusters with rapidly emerging applications in catalysis, molecular magnetism, life science and more recently in the building of novel memristive devices. In principle, particular POMs have been recognized to build cage-like topologies which occasionally can be related to molecular polyhedra. This seminar introduces how the concept of “POMs-polyhedra” evolved over the past nine decades and how nowadays in the age of computational materials science it can be used in combination with experiment towards devising POM-based application and rational synthesis of a brand new generation of stable and functional POMs. Herein, a particular emphasis is placed on molecular modeling and the application of DFT methods towards unveiling the interplay between symmetry and strain in POMs. Finally, the seminar introduces how fundamental research can inspire innovations in chemical education, in particular our recent application of “programmable” interlocking disks (ILDs) as a new discovery-based tool for learning of polyhedral and reticular topologies with chemical relevance.

Biography:

Since 2018, Dr. Aleksandar Kondinski is an FWO postdoctoral fellow working in the Laboratory of Bioinorganic Chemistry at KU Leuven led by Prof. Dr. Tatjana Parac-Vogt. Aleksandar completed his PhD in chemistry at Jacobs University Bremen in 2016 under the mentorship of Prof. Dr. Thomas Heine. Between 2016-2017 he did a postdoctoral term in the research unit of Prof. Dr. Paul Kögerler. During his doctorate and postdoctorate phases he has earned multiple awards and has completed research visits at universities in Amsterdam (VUA) and Tarragona (URV). His research interests encompass virtually all aspects of preparative and theoretical polyoxometalate chemistry.