STIMULI RESPONSIVE COORDINATION POLYMERS

Abstract

Stimuli responsive crystalline materials are highly sought after for the development of molecular actuators that undergo rapid structural transformation/reconfiguration in response to external stimuli such as light, heat, mechanical force, etc. Such materials have a wide range of potential applications in the field of smart medical devices, artificial muscles, sensors, flexible electronics, and probes. Although structural transformation of coordination polymers (CPs) have been studied in the literature, but translation of such microscopic perturbations to the bulk macroscopic crystals are rarely explored. With proper understanding of the structure-property relationship, responsive CPs can be designed that work precisely in response to the external stimuli. Transduction of energy may result in visually impressive macroscopic dynamism such as jumping, bending, curling, twisting, hopping of the crystals. This thesis explores the nanoscopic structural changes in CPs and eventually the physical manifestation of such changes in the bulk crystals for the development of molecular actuators.