Back to the LSAC Group Page RESEARCH DIRECTOR:
Enrique Iglesia, Professor of Chemical Engineering, University of California at Berkeley and Faculty Scientist, Lawrence Berkeley Laboratory
SUMMARY:
This project aims to exploit the ability of immobilized calixarenes to act as selective single-site adsorbers for specific target molecules. Calixarenes possess a bowl-shaped structure with a strongly hydrophobic core. When attached to silica, they have shown the ability to strongly adsorb organic molecules from aqueous solutions. Moreover, by functionalizing the upper rim of the calixarene, adsorption can become enantioselective. The mechanism of adsorption remains unclear and it will be studied in detail as part of this project, concurrently with the development of structure-function rules that relate the structure and electronic properties of a specific calixarene structure to its binding properties for a specific target molecule. These mechanistic studies of adsorption processes will provide the basis for the ultimate use of immobilized chiral calixarenes in conjunction with active sites in an attempt to carry out catalytic reactions with high enantiomeric selectivity.
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Last Updated 01/25/02.