Our general aim is the design of porous (multi)functional materials, which are obtained by assembling functional polymetallic building blocks containing cyanide or oxamate ligands.
One of the research axis deals with the use of electro- thermo- piezo- or photo-switchable cyanide cages to obtain responsive and multifunctional materials. Such materials could be used as sensor for detecting and trapping toxic elements (eg Tl). The redox versatility of these materials, their ability for trapping ions or small molecules and the fine-tuning of their electronic and structural characteristics, can also offer applications in heterogeneous catalysis or as cathode material for ion batteries. The group also possesses a strong expertise in the synthesis of oxamate-based magnetic systems. Oxamate ligands are known to efficiently transmit magnetic interaction through the spin polarization and the spin topology mechanisms. They can also be easily functionalized on the oxamate nitrogen atom. This chemical versatility is a considerable asset for the design of multifunctional metalloligands. In combining all the advantages of coordination chemistry (ligand design, complex design, metal ions choices), the use of oxamate-based metalloligands represents thus an appealing synthetic strategy where it is possible to drive the multidimensional assembly, tune the magnetic properties, and favor the formation of multifunctional materials.