Name: Basudev Sahoo
Diploma / M.Sc degree: IIT Kanpur, India
(May 2011)

PhD Project: Development of novel organic linkers for functional metal-organic frameworks (MOFs) - towards selective separation and catalysis

Abstract of Research Project

Metal-organic frameworks constitute an emerging class of porous materials having utility in various areas, including gas storage, gas purification and separation as well as heterogeneous catalysis. MOFs not only offer higher surface areas, but also provide shape and/or size selectivity, which is important in separation and catalysis. It is advantageous that minor changes in the synthetic process, the linker or the metal can lead to dramatic changes in structure and properties for tuning reactivity and selectivity. Although still in their infancy, homochiral MOFs, which are synthesized following the strategies of direct incorporation of chiral entity/catalyst or post-synthetic modification, have potential to catalyze challenging transformations in asymmetric fashion and a bright future in developing homochiral MOFs to produce optically pure organic molecules is foreseen.

During our research program we are looking forward to develop new kinds of crystalline porous metal-organic frameworks (MOFs) using various metal sources and organic linkers. We are also interested in functional modification of metal-organic frameworks (MOFs) to improve their properties and study of their utility in various fields, mainly catalysis and separation. We have started to work on the synthesis of new organic linker molecules in order to generate these exciting porous materials.



Publications

M. N. Hopkinson, B. Sahoo, J.-L. Li, F. Glorius
Dual Catalysis Sees the Light: Combining Photoredox with Organo-, Acid, and Transition-Metal Catalysis
Chem. Eur. J. 20 (2014), 3874–3886.

B. Sahoo, M. N. Hopkinson, F. Glorius
Combining Gold and Photoredox Catalysis: Visible Light-Mediated Oxy- and Aminoarylation of Alkenes
J. Am. Chem. Soc. 135 (2013), 5505-5508.