S19: Molecular-level Processing and Chemical Engineering of Functional Materials

Materials synthesis based on the use of molecular precursors has been recognized as a powerful way to access compounds with controlled and adjustable compositions, crystal structures, morphologies and consequently property profiles. Thus, a careful design of suitable molecular precursors as well as an extensive knowledge about their (thermal) conversion into desired functional materials are of crucial importance for providing improved rational preparative concepts towards tailor-made (multi)functional structures. Molecular synthesis techniques towards functional materials are highly attractive, as they can be performed with highly efficient atom economy, they allow access to well defined chemical and phase compositions as well as to unique morphologies and (metastable) phases.

This Symposium intends to conceptually unite materials chemists, ceramists and materials engineers for developing new concepts and pathways for synthesis, net-shaping and device integration of functional materials. Whereas the conventional top-down methods are preferred due to their simplicity and to some extent predictable nature, they operate mostly in the thermodynamical regimes and are less suited for synthesizing multi-component and hybrid (organic-inorganic) materials. Despite the well-known benefits of molecular-level processing of inorganic solids, a major challenge lies in the limited insight into molecule-to-material transformations and the fact that many of the molecular precursors are commercially not available.

During this Symposium, the role of precursor chemistry and additives in solution such as sol-gel, solvothermal, electrospinning, microwave, Chemical Vapor Deposition (CVD) and Atomic Layer Deposition (ALD) techniques will be critically analyzed. Specific emphasis will be laid on materials manufacturing strategies such as 3D printing and chemically controlled assembly and purpose-driven modification of materials. Non-conventional synthesis and analytical methods enabling in-situ diagnostics and mechanistic insights into nucleation, growth and self-assembly are in particular focus. Emphasizing the need of new and smart chemical processing methods to obtain specific material compositions, that can integrate the advancements in materials processing techniques with the existing knowledge-base of materials chemistry will also be a part of this Symposium. The industrial potential of chemically processed materials will be analyzed and discussed concerning their simplicity, scalability and cost-effectiveness. Moreover, aspects related to the potential of using molecular precursor synthesis concepts towards circular economy, waste-less processes and effective materials recycling will also be considered and critically discussed.

Proposed Session Topics

• Precursor chemistry – Structural and thermal transformations
• Chemically processed nanostructures and on-surface nanochemistry
• Two dimensional materials and their chemical functionalization
• Solution-processing of nanomaterials for optical, catalytic and sensing applications
• Molecular precursor approaches for vapor-phase synthesis (ALD, CVD) of materials
• In-situ studies on nucleation and growth of solid-state phases in solution and gas phases
• Smart chemistry for functionalization of nanostructures
• Chemical approaches to new processing methods such as 3D-printing
• Scaled-up production of precursor-derived materials
• Materials integration and device applications

Symposium Organizers

• Sanjay Mathur, University of Cologne, Germany
• Emanuel Ionescu, Technische Universität Darmstadt, Germany
• Samuel Bernard, University of Limoges, France
• Gurpreet Singh, Kansas University, USA
• Ravi Kumar, IIT Madras, India
• Peter Kroll, University of Texas at Arlington, USA
• Shashank Mishra, University of Lyon, France
• Maarit Karppinen, Aalto University, Finland
• Gunnar Westin, Uppsala University, Sweden
• Ausrine Bartasyte, University of Franche-Comté, France
• Hiromitsu Kozuka, Kansai University, Japan
• Hirokazu Katsui, National Institute of Advanced Industrial Science and Technology (AIST), Japan
• Yoshiyuki Sugahara, Waseda University, Japan
• Dong-Pyo Kim, Pohang University of Science and Technology, South Korea
• Ulrich Wiesner, Cornell University, USA

Points of Contact

• Emanuel Ionescu: emanuel.ionescu@tu-darmstadt.de
• Sanjay Mathur: sanjay.mathur@uni-koeln.de
• Peter Kroll: pkroll@uta.edu
• Yoshiyuki Sugahara: ys6546@waseda.jp