Faculty Profile of Simon Krause

Our interdisciplinary research group explores how to teach crystals tricks of living matter by investigating dynamic features of molecular framework materials such as metal-organic and covalent organic frameworks (MOFs and COFs). By specifically tuning the structural topology of the framework, we create soft porous crystals which exhibit pore contraction and/or expansion as a response to the adsorption of gases and fluids or external triggers such as light irradiation. Such materials can act as responsive cargo-release systems, nanoscopic sensors or feature counterintuitive phenomena such as negative gas adsorption. We furthermore construct frameworks which contain molecular machines such as light-driven molecular motors and switches as responsive and intrinsically dynamic building blocks. We aim towards collective operating molecular machines in the solid state which are able to actively transport molecules in the pore space and facilitate dynamic conversion and storage of energy carriers and other small molecules. Our diverse team uses a wide range of synthetic and experimental tools and collaborates in national and international research projects to push the boundaries of dynamic features in crystalline solids.