From October 13 to 26, the Head of the Laboratory for the synthesis of new crystalline materials of the SCTMS Dr. Eugeny Alexandrov was on a business trip at the University of Milan (Italy). Together with Prof. Lucia Carlucci and Prof. Davide Proserpio, a number of works on coordination polymers were carried out.First of all, the database of three-periodic coordination polymers with rod building units was updated, and a wide range of topological descriptors was calculated that allows describing and predicting new polymers. Scientists have identified a set of rules for the design of new compounds, and a joint article is being prepared on this part of the study. Scientists also updated the design scheme of porous metal-organic frameworks (MOF) with zirconium clusters. Moreover, the researchers were able to summarize the accumulated data of experimental and theoretical studies on the exfoliation of layered coordination polymers.
An important part of collaboration is synthesis. During Dr. Eugeny Alexandrov’s stay in Milan, two new coordination polymers and two hydrogen-bonded supramolecular architectures (supposedly conducting electric current) were synthesized.
Dr. Eugeny Alexandrov talks about scientific communication – he meet Dr. Emanuele Priola, Dr. Jacopo Andreo (University of Turin) and Prof. Andrea Ienko (Istituto di Chimica dei Composti OrganoMetallici (CNR-ICCOM)), Prof. Ferdinando Costantino (University of Perugia) and discussed the joint research on luminescent MOFs and metal-organic nanotubes.
“The long-standing collaboration of the SCTMS with the researchechers from the University of Milan always gives many results of scientific activity, – says Dr. Eugeny Alexandrov. – We try to keep this cooperation at the high level. Trips to Europe also allow me to meet and discuss the latest ideas and promising directions with many leading scientists. The University of Milan attracts and encourages people for communication and kindly provides a platform for joint breakthrough research".
A business trip was made possible thanks to a grant from the President of the Russian Federation for state support of young russian scientists. The theme of the project is "Design concept for coordination polymers with core building units".