School of Chemical Sciences Seminar
Well-defined, Soluble Synthetic Graphenes and Graphene-Metal Complexes
Dr Nigel LUCAS
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Department of Chemistry, University of Otago
Monday 16th July at 4 PM in Room 301-248
The lecture will be followed by a sherry hour in the SCS tea room on 5th floor at 5 PM
Abstract
‘Graphene’ describes a single-atom thick, 2D honeycomb network of carbon atoms that constitute the layers of the carbon
allotrope graphite. Interest in the study of graphene materials has grown significantly in recent years as graphene sheets
offer extraordinary electronic, thermal and mechanical properties that may be exploited for a variety of applications.
Improved total synthesis approaches provide access to graphene-like large polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs) that
are monodisperse, soluble, and well-defined with regard to size and shape.
The strong face-to-face stacking interaction between graphenes is one attribute that has prompted us to investigate such
molecules (and their functionalised derivatives) as ligands for metal complexation. The graphene moiety typically drives
the arrangement of the ligand and its metal complexes in the bulk and on surfaces, often resulting in long range order. The
synthetic and supramolecular chemistry of graphenes, graphene-based ligands and complexes, along with their solution,
solid-state and surface organisational properties, will be discussed.
Career
Nigel obtained his BSc(Hons) and PhD (2002) from the Australian National University in organometallic chemistry working
with Prof. Mark Humphrey. Following postdoctoral research at the Max Planck Institute for Polymer Research, Germany as
an Alexander von Humboldt Research Fellow, he returned to Australia in 2005 to take up an ARC Postdoctoral Fellowship
at The University of Sydney. In 2008 he moved to the Department of Chemistry, University of Otago where he is currently
a Senior Lecturer. Nigel's research interests span the synthesis and properties of carbon-rich molecular materials,
supramolecular chemistry and self-assembly, organometallic chemistry and catalysis, and crystallography.