2023 Job Lecture Series: Scientific lecture #1 by Prof. Kenichiro Itami, Nagoya University
Wednesday, July 12, 9-10 a.m.
CSF-1302, CSF1309A/B
Synthesis of Carbon Nanorings and Carbon Nanobelts
The discovery and creation of new forms of carbon have always transformed the scientific landscape. For example, the discoveries of fullerenes, carbon nanotubes (CNTs), and graphenes have opened doors to the science of nanometer-sized carbon allotropes, otherwise known as nanocarbons. Since then, researchers worldwide have unveiled their outstanding physical and chemical properties, and a number of applications and technologies have arisen in not only materials science but also biological research fields. The synthesis and study of this privileged class of “single-molecule” compounds has become one of the most engaging subjects in chemistry and holds huge promise to establish new fields in molecular science. However, there have been huge gaps between established small-molecule chemistry and nanocarbon science. In the case of CNTs, it is still not possible to access structurally uniform CNTs. Although a wide range of synthetic methods have been reported, CNTs are generally accessed as a mixture of various structures. One logical strategy to achieve full synthetic control over CNTs is to build up from a template molecule with structural precision (the “growth-from-template” strategy), where a short CNT segment molecule represents an initial synthetic target. To this end, organic syn-thesis techniques are our most powerful tools to synthesize short CNT segments such as carbon nanorings and carbon nanobelts. This lecture will highlight our 17-year campaign in the synthesis and application of carbon nanorings and carbon nanobelts.
Presented by Department of Chemistry