Senior research scientist of SCTMS Dr. Eugeny Alexandrov, Head of the Laboratory of New Crystal Materials’ Synthesis, made a report at the 1st European Doctoral Symposium on Metal-Organic Frameworks held in Raitenhaslach monastery (Germany) from April 29th to May 2nd, 2018.The symposium is organized by DEFNET and is designed particularly for doctoral researchers. Its aim is to create an enjoyable platform of inspiring exchange for doctoral researchers across the European Union and beyond. DEFect NETwork is the first European Training Network (ETN) that integrates researchers in Chemistry, Physics and advanced technologies and enables academia to work together in the exciting and currently advancing field of molecular network materials (MOFs) science and engineering. The main organizers and partners of the ETN are 16 leading European universities and research laboratories such as Ruhr-University Bochum (Germany), KU Leuven University (Belgium), Marseille University (France), Oxford University (UK), Laboratory MADIREL (France) and others.
Topics range of the symposium are from synthesis of novel materials, characterization techniques to industrial applications, accounting for the various application possibilities of MOFs. Eighty-two participants from 15 countries attended docMOF 2018 as well as 9 keynote speakers. Applications went through a rigorous selection procedure, many applications were rejected. Thus, only reports of high quality were accepted for presentation at the symposium. Except Eugeny Alexandrov, three PhD students from Novosibirsk (Russia) and one Russian speaking PhD student from Switzerland (Ilia Kochetygov was born in Novosibirsk, at present work at EPFL, Syon) participated in the symposium.
The symposium program included seven sessions: session of keynote speakers and sessions of specialists in various areas – synthesis, catalysis, characterisation of MOFs, applications, adsorption and separation, modelling. Eugeny Alexandrov made a presentation «Taxonomy and properties of rod MOFs: topologies, packings, intersecting helical rods, mechanical anisotropy» at the session dedicated to MOF modelling and talked on topological systematics and elastic properties of MOFs containing rod building blocks.
Keynote reports were as short lectures and were dedicated to various aspects of MOFs. Eugeny Alexandrov accentuated the lecture of Prof. Silvia Bordiga (University of Turin, Italy) on vibrational spectroscopies for understanding structure and functional properties of MOFs. The report of Prof. Norbert Stock (Kiel University, Germany), an expert in hybrid compounds, on MOF synthesis, and the report of Prof. Martin Schröder (University of Manchester, UK) whose research interests include design, synthesis and study of porous metal organic framework materials for energy and environmental applications aroused much interest of Dr. Alexandrov.
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