About

In our research group, the synthesis & characterization of metal organic frameworks (MOF), which are a specific branch of coordination polymers are investigated. MOFs are principally  prominent in gas storage/separation applications. MOFs which are crystalline materials consist of metal ions/clusters bridged by organic ligands and are new generation adsorbents with the high surface area and porosity. In the synthesis of MOFs, pore size and functionality can be adjusted by appropriate combination of organic ligand, functional group and metal ion. Both theoretical and experimental studies have been being proceeded in order to discover the mechanisms of new approaches that developed for enhancing the gas storage capacity of MOFs and to achieve the designated goals. Especially in recent years, the design of functional MOFs with further CO₂ adsorption capacity & selective gas separation has been bursting. Our research group aims to synthesize functional MOFs that can selectively adsorb more CO₂ arising from flue gas (CO₂/N₂) & natural gas (CO₂/CH₄), with their tunable pore size & pore properties. Besides all these, studies are also performed on the design and synthesis of MOFs that respond to external stimuli (such as heat, light, pH, solvent) by changing their colors. Moreover, studies on picric acid and Fe(III) sensors are carried out in our research group in addition to other sensor studies.

Overview of research topics:

Due to the developing industry in our country, the energy requirement that is increasing day by day is supplied from fossil fuels, which are abundant & economical. However, the rapid increase in the world population & industrialization provokes both a decrease in fossil fuels and an increase in CO₂ emissions.  Therefore, metal-organic frameworks (MOF) gains popularity in recent years in the storage of hydrogen that is seen as a new energy source, in purifying natural gas with higher efficiency, and in reducing CO2 emissions that cause global warming. MOFs are three-dimensional metal-organic hybrid polymers with high surface area & permanent porosity. MOFs have application areas such as luminescence, catalyst, sensor, ion exchange, magnetic materials in addition to energy storage, gas adsorption and separation. For this reason, to synthesize new generation porous materials and to use them as an alternative to energy storage are noted for our national economy. Researches on the synthesis of novel MOFs with high surface area & adsorption capacity are increasing day by day. Especially in recent years, instead of new MOF synthesis; new design strategies have been developed to make the coordination framework more functional, which can improve the performance of existing MOFs. According to a popular approach, double-charged ligands known as zwitterions have begun to be preferred as building blocks. Novel ZW-MOFs have permanent cationic & anionic functional regions thanks to their zwitterionic ligands. These charged organic surfaces that formed in the pore contribute to more polarization of guest molecules that entering the pores such as CO₂ and provide more adsorption capacity for small gases and separation of gas mixtures. When ZW-MOFs are exposed to UV light (365 nm), they can response by changing their color with radical formation. Thanks to it, novel materials called photochromic smart materials are obtained. In this way, it is aimed to be used in various materials as a sensor with its UV rays absorption property.