Distinguished iNANO Lecture: From Inorganic to Hybrid Chemistry for Catalytic Applications

Assistant professor Nina Lock, Interdisciplinary Nanoscience Center, Aarhus University

From Inorganic to Hybrid Materials for Catalytic Applications

With a background as materials chemist, one of my main interests is to correlate the structure of materials with their properties and thereby tailor new catalysts. I joined iNANO as an assistant professor one year ago, and I am building up a research group in the field of hybrid organic-inorganic materials.

My PhD research at Aarhus University focused on synthesis and characterization of oxide materials including in situ studies of the formation of e.g. nanocrystaline aluminium oxides. After working with molecular metal-organic chemistry during my postdoctoral stay in Germany, my current research mainly focuses on organic-inorganic hybrid materials for catalytic applications. Hybrids uniquely adopt properties of the organic as well as inorganic structural components, and a synergetic interplay between the two parts gives superior materials in comparison with their standalone counterparts. The hybrid materials in focus are two-dimensional stacked materials and porous metal-organic frameworks (MOFs).

In this talk I will highlight the importance of correlating structure and physical properties including optical properties. Moreover, I will give an introduction to the potential of using hybrid materials for catalysis, and I will present results on the initiated projects on hybrid catalyst development.

Host: Director & Professor Jørgen Kjems, iNANO & Dept. of Molecular Biology and Genetics, Aarhus University