Overview. The Wuest Group is broadly interested in molecular materials, and our projects often span multiple areas of chemistry. Over time, we have worked with a large part of the periodic table, and our research blends organic chemistry with inorganic chemistry, physical chemistry, surface science, computation, and other subjects, such as building and testing devices like solar cells and batteries. Molecular design, synthesis, and structural analysis are special interests of the group. Molecular association plays a central role in our projects, and one of our main goals is to learn how to control organization in materials by using various interactions to position neighboring molecules according to plan. As shown by recent work summarized below, our multidisciplinary approach lets us undertake ambitious projects that are leading to novel materials and a deeper understanding of how structure and properties are related.

I. Modular Construction. We are pioneers in modular construction, which is a simple and powerful way to make predictably ordered materials by using molecular modules that engage in well-defined association and thereby hold their neighbors in predetermined positions. Our first papers describing this concept (J. Am. Chem. Soc. 1991, 113, 4696; J. Org. Chem. 1988, 53, 5787) continue to be cited more than 30 years after publication. The strategy of modular construction underlies subsequent development of the vast field of metal-organic frameworks, covalent organic frameworks, hydrogen-bonded organic frameworks, and supramolecular polymers. Recent work in the group includes building crystalline covalently-bonded carbon-based materials analogous to diamond (Angew. Chem. Int. Ed. 2016, 55, 894; Nat. Chem. 2013, 5, 830) and new porous molecular solids (Chem. Eur. J. 2020, 26, 7026). An overview of the field of modular construction and our contributions to it was published recently (Nat. Commun. 2020, 11, 4652).

II. Surface Science. Our work has shown how modular construction can be used in 2D to help control adsorption on surfaces. Papers summarizing our work with surfaces have appeared in Chem. Commun., CrystEngComm, J. Phys. Chem. C, J. Am. Chem. Soc., Cryst. Growth Des., and Langmuir. The work has shown the special value of a dual approach in which 3D molecular organization (determined by X-ray diffraction) is compared systematically with 2D organization on surfaces (revealed by scanning probe microscopy). This approach has yielded insights about molecular organization that would not have emerged from studies focused narrowly on 2D or 3D structures alone. For example, we have used scanning tunneling microscopy to probe in molecular detail how crystallization can be thwarted (J. Am. Chem. Soc. 2007, 129, 13774). Work of this type requires skills in molecular design and synthesis, combined with the ability to use sophisticated tools of surface analysis. The Wuest Group has also contributed to surface science by collaborating with colleagues in medicine to produce metallic implants with surfaces that are etched or grafted to facilitate osseointegration and minimize bacterial adhesion. Work with stainless steel was published recently (Colloids Surf. B 2018, 161, 677), and earlier studies of Ti and other metals have led to multiple patents and a set of papers that have now been collectively cited over 2000 times.

III. Molecular Crystallization. The group has broad experience in molecular crystallization, including the “dark side” of crystal engineering, which involves learning how to inhibit crystallization and make solids amorphous, probing how crystallization is related to other types of organization like gelation, and encouraging compounds to exist in multiple crystalline forms. Each form has unique properties, so polymorphism is a subject of great importance in every industry that uses crystalline solids, including drugs and foods. Finding previously unknown polymorphs increases the diversity of available solid forms and allows products to be optimized by selecting them from the widest possible range of options. Recent work in the Wuest group has examined the origin of high levels of polymorphism (J. Org. Chem. 2022, 87, 6680; Acc. Chem. Res. 2020, 53, 2472; Cryst. Growth Des. 2019, 19, 5390), as well as new ways to increase polymorphic diversity (Cryst. Growth Des. 2023, 23, 7472; Cryst. Growth Des. 2023, 23, 273; J. Am. Chem. Soc. 2020, 142, 11873). Our methods of polymorphic screening have been highlighted (Chem. Eng. News 2020, 98 (29), 9; Chem. World (July 29, 2020); Org. Process Res. Dev. 2020, 24, 1549) and patented (CA 3165292). In addition, three recent papers have explored the subtle relationship between crystallization and gelation (Langmuir 2022, 38, 5111; Cryst. Growth Des. 2022, 22, 643, 3505).

Our work helps provide a deeper understanding of molecular crystallization and ways to control it, and we are working with partners in industry to put this knowledge to use by developing better ways to screen for new solid forms (Cryst. Growth Des. 2024, 24,1268). To a degree, preferred patterns of crystallization can be identified by mining existing collections of structural data or by using computational methods to predict how compounds will behave. However, these approaches are incomplete because they do not yield guidelines that point to promising new areas to explore, nor do they show how predicted solid forms can be made in the laboratory. To go further, we combine database mining and computation with intensive experimentation, in which we carry out the synthesis, crystallization, and structural analysis of new compounds that are specifically designed to reveal the complex rules governing crystallization and to expand the range of known molecular behavior. This multifaceted approach offers a promising way to identify unexplored areas of chemical space where valuable new crystalline molecular materials are likely to be found.

IV. Batteries and Other Devices Based Sustainably on New Organic Materials. Our experience and multidisciplinary perspective are helping us develop organic materials for use in batteries and other devices. We have reviewed aspects of this field (Chem. Soc. Rev. 2013, 42, 9105 and Chem. Rev. 2013, 113, 3734), and recent papers have explored how components such as fullerenes can be organized in optoelectronically active materials (J. Am. Chem. Soc. 2022, 144, 556; Cryst. Growth Des. 2020, 20, 1319; J. Am. Chem. Soc. 2019, 141, 18740; Cryst. Growth Des. 2019, 19, 5418; J. Org. Chem. 2017, 82, 5034). Other papers have reported how organic materials made by the group have performed in photovoltaic devices and light-emitting diodes (Can. J. Chem. 2020, 98, 582, 575, 564; J. Polym. Sci., Part B: Polym. Phys. 2017, 55, 1479). Our work in these areas is guided by principles of sustainability and green chemistry, as illustrated by our emphasis on optimal solvents for depositing thin layers (ACS Sustain. Chem. Eng. 2017, 5, 5994; 2015, 3, 3373) and on methods of recycling (Thin Solid Films 2017, 638, 236). Our current priority is to develop novel redox-active organic materials for use in batteries (J. Org. Chem. 2023, 88, 16302; J. Org. Chem. 2022, 87, 7673, 15796; J. Org. Chem. 2018, 83, 15426). A particular goal of our work in this area is to find new redox-active compounds that have unusual structures and properties, yet can easily be made from abundant renewable resources such as biomass. 

V. Put Your Project Here. Jim sometimes has good ideas, but many of the best projects summarized above in sections I–IV were conceived and led by graduate students and postdoctoral fellows in the Wuest group. Join us and put your project here!