Chemical Processing by Self-Assembly: Let's Take It Seriously
Plenary Lectures at ECCE-6
Danckwerts Lecture 2007: Matthew Tirrell
Keywords: chemical products, biology, biomaterials, porous materials, molecular electronics
Self-assembly is a route to processing of chemical products that relies
on information content built into the process precursors. A challenge
for engineers is to develop the practical routes to technologically
important self-assembly processes. Self-assembly occurs frequently in
biology but translating that bio-inspiration to controllable chemical
processing presents many interesting problems. The complexity built into
self-assembled products is at the level of supermolecular structure.
Complexity, in the sense of development of emergent properties of an
assembly that cannot readily be envisioned from the constituents, can
arise spontaneously during self-assembly and often does, especially in
biological systems. We are only beginning to develop sufficiently
sophisticated synthetic assemblers to mimic biology in this way. Other
routes to self-organization may also be of interest for nanotechnology.
Prospects for success and current efforts in biomaterials, porous
materials, molecular electronics and other areas will be discussed.
Presented Wednesday 19, 09:40 to 10:30, in session Danckwerts Lecture 2007: Matthew Tirrell.
