Crystal Engineering of Framework Materials

Over the past decade, we have successfully designed a great number of metal-organic frameworks for applications in second-order nonlinear optics, gas storage, asymmetric catalysis, and chiral separations. Our current interests focus on designing new framework materials for applications in energy (such as hydrogen storage and solar fuel production) and catalysis (such as asymmetric catalysis and photocatalysis) areas.

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Hybrid Nanomaterials for Biomedical Imaging and Drug Delivery

A new class of molecule-based nanomaterials is being developed for a number of biological and biomedical applications. In this emerging area of nanomedicine, we are designing nanoscale multimodal contrast agents for magnetic resonance imaging, optical imaging, and X-ray computed tomography and developing novel nanoparticles for targeted delivery of potent anticancer therapeutics. We have successfully applied some of our hybrid nanomaterials for early diagnosis of cancers and rheumatoid arthritis in animal models.

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Developing Catalytic Processes for Fine Chemicals and Biofuels

We are designing novel heterogeneous catalysts for sustainable production of fine chemicals and biofuels. Heterogeneneous catalysts based on a variety of platforms are being developed and used for highly enantioselective catalysts for many important organic transformations. We are also developing new catalytic systems for highly efficient conversion of readily fatty acid feedstocks (such as yellow and brown greases) to biodiesel and other value-added products.

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Functional Supramolecular Chemistry

We have also developed synthetic strategies for supramolecular systems ranging from nanoscopic organic macrocycles and cages to mesoscopic molecular hula-hoops that were readily assembled via metal coordination-driven self-assembly processes. Such enzyme-mimicking supramolecular systems are being exploited in molecular recognition, transport, sensing, separation, and catalysis.

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Professor Wenbin Lin

Professor Lin received his B.S degree in Chemical Physics from University of Science and Technology of China and his PhD degree in Chemistry from the University of Illinois at Urbana Champaign. Thereafter, he was a National Science Foundation postdoctoral fellow at Northwestern University, and joined the faculty at Brandeis University in 1997. He moved to University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill in 2001 and was promoted to associate and full professor in 2003 and 2007, respectively.

Professor Lin has received a National Science Foundation Postdoctoral Fellowship, a National Science Foundation CAREER Award, an Alfred P. Sloan Research Fellowship, an Arnold and Mabel Beckman Young Investigator Award, a Research Corporation Cottrell Scholar Award, and a Camille Dreyfus Teacher-Scholar Award.