0605923_Lin

1. Crystal Engineering of Functional Materials Wenbin Lin, University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, DMR 0605923 As the organic bridging ligands become more elaborate and large, the resulting metal-organic frameworks (MOFs) tend to experience detrimental framework distortion upon solvent removal. We demonstrated the synthesis of high-connectivity MOFs using octa-carboxylate ligands and copper paddle-wheel building units with enhanced framework stability, remarkable permanent porosity, and high hydrogen uptake (2.5 wt% at 77 K and 1 atm).1 We also demonstrated the rigidification of MOFs that are built from elongated tetracarboxylate bridging ligands via unusual interlocking and interpenetration to lead to highly porous and robust hybrid materials.2 1Ma, L.; Mihalcik, D.J.; Lin, W. J. Am. Chem. Soc.2009, 131, 4610. 2Ma, L.; Lin, W. Angew. Chem. Int. Ed.2009, 48, 3637.

2. Crystal Engineering of Functional Materials Wenbin Lin, University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, DMR 0605923 The Hydrogen storage materials developed in this project have the potential to enable the use of hydrogen as a mobile power source, which is of paramount importance not only to the national energy security but also to the reduction of environmental pollution. The PI has made conscious efforts to encourage research participation of the underrepresented groups, with more than half of the group members being female. The PI had a very successful year in international collaborations and hosted inter-national personnel at undergraduate (Sylvie Tran, France and Katie Weng, New Zealand), graduate (Shuting Wu, China), and visiting Fulbright Scholar (Simona Maggini, Italy) levels. The PI supervised six undergraduate students during the 2008-2009 academic year: Ms. Athena Jin, Ms. Sylvie Tran, Ms. Katie Weng, Ms. Anna Dunn, Mr. Yuli Jiang, and Ms. Jung Min Lee. Several of these undergraduate students have been or will be co-authors of several papers.