The Dagmar Procházková Fund, named after a prominent UCT Prague graduate, provides financial support for scientific projects with the aim of creating new directions for research at UCT Prague. In 2024, Dr. Martin Tlustý from UCT Prague’s Department of Organic Chemistry received this grant for the Mechanical bond as a protecting group in the synthesis of porous materials research project. His work has significant potential for use in the synthesis of porous materials. Who would he like to join his team and who would be his ideal future collaborators?
Can you tell us about your project and its main goals?
This project focuses on porous materials such as MOFs (metal-organic frameworks) and COFs (covalent organic frameworks). These substances have two basic parts: a linear molecule (the so-called linker) and a connecting centre. The connecting centre can be either a metal atom (in MOFs) or an organic substance (in COFs). Linkers are rigid molecules that bind to the centre. Together, they form a crystalline lattice with a porous structure.
Because nature does not like free spaces, one of the problems is the so-called interpenetration, i.e. the formation of another crystalline lattice inside the original one, which affects the size of the pores. This is a problematic especially because the properties of these materials are closely related to the size of their pores. The goal of the project is to preclude this interpenetration in order to create materials with larger pores.
How can this interpenetration be precluded?
My approach uses mechanical bonds as protecting groups. A mechanical bond is such an arrangement of molecules that prevents their separation. For example, in the case of so-called rotaxanes, a macrocycle is mechanically bound around a linear molecule. Because a linear molecule has sterically bulky groups at its ends, the macrocycle cannot slip off. Imagine it as a ring strung on a rod that is flared at the ends so the ring cannot separate itself from the rod. Since these “rings” tend to be quite bulky, they should be able to prevent interpenetration. A key step in my research is to design the “ring” so that it can be removed after a porous material is formed, which will allow materials with much larger pores than are currently available to be created.
What are these kinds of molecules useful for?
MOFs and COFs are very popular materials with a wide range of applications. For example, they are used, for gas storage, gas separation, in organocatalysis, and so on. It just depends on how we design the specific materials and how large the pores are made.
What inspired you to choose the topic?
I spent two years in England in the Goldup Group that specializes in developing new synthetic methods to make useful mechanically interlocked molecules. So, I have a fairly good grounding in this topic. However, that group deals with small molecules, while I want to focus on their use in materials, so I will be learning issues related to materials chemistry and its applications as I go.
So why did you decide to investigate large molecules?
During my internship in England, I attended a lecture by Professor Yagi, a big name in the field of porous materials. I was really interested in what you can do with these kinds of materials. For example, he showed us a video of how he literally pumped water out of the air using similar materials. I was so interested in that I thought that something interesting could be created by combining those concepts with mechanical bonding.
Do you expect any challenges during this project?
There are not many described reactions that can modify these kinds of polymer structures. So in order to be able to perform a post-synthetic modification, i.e. to break down the macrocycle (“ring”), I will have to find groups that will be able to react within the polymer structure. These are insoluble substances, so you need some simple reaction that will be able to quantitatively break down the macrocycles even in the solid phase. At the same time, the macrocycle must not be too unstable, because especially for COFs, their formulation conditions are quite harsh. Thus, we must design the macrocycle so that it is stable under certain conditions and unstable under other conditions.
How will you find the right molecules?
Primarily experimentally. I have a few ideas for systems that might work. The easiest way is to synthesize some macrocycle and check if it can be degraded in a satisfactory way, concurrently testing its stability under different conditions. I expect that different macrocycles will likely be useful for synthesizing different types of porous materials.
Will it be possible to predict structures mathematically?
We will definitely use classical computational chemistry for this research. Nowadays, artificial intelligence (AI) is also used in this area, but one must create a model and train it using available data. Because our approach is innovative, we do not have that kind of data yet. When we have it, AI could definitely help us, but for that I will definitely need to establish some collaborative network.
So will you be looking for colleagues to hire your team as well as external collaborators?
Yes. So far, I haven’t looked for any external collaborators, but when I have the first materials in hand, I will need to establish cooperation with materials chemists, if not others, because the properties of the prepared materials will need to be characterized. Later, it would be appropriate to cooperate with computational chemists. This could speed up the entire research process.
I am already looking for organic chemists for my team. The first phase of the project is mainly about creating mechanical bonds, or rather precursors for MOFs and COFs, which is practically pure synthetic work.
Do you plan to follow up this project with more research? If so, what directions would you like to take?
One of the reasons I chose this topic is its potential to be applied to real-world use. If it works out, I will try to put the ideas and the research itself into the applied setting.
How helpful is the Dagmar Procházková Fund in the implementation of your research?
The grant is tremendously helpful, especially since the funding is for three years, which gives me more time to build a team. I have 2 million CZK per year at my disposal. This will allow me to finance my first doctoral students and create a stable foundation for future research.
Will you be applying for more grants?
Yes, financial resources are important in keeping the research team running and three years will go by quickly.
Do you have anything specific in mind that you would like to apply for?
Yes, I do, but I am not ready to reveal my plans just yet.
Do you have any other ambitions for the future, either personal or professional?
My biggest professional ambition right now is to build my own high-quality research group and start publishing in the area of research I have chosen.
What would you recommend to early career researchers who are considering applying for similar grants?
Don’t be afraid and apply. The Dagmar Procházková Fund has fewer administrative requirements than other grants (e.g., the Czech Research Foundation). At the same time, writing a proposal teaches you how to write them. This is an invaluable skill. Most importantly, as I like to say, those who don’t apply don’t get funding.