Multicomponent Hydrogen-bonded Organic Frameworks Composites

Hydrogen-bonded Organic Frameworks (HOFs) are innovative materials with a unique structure full of tiny pores. These pores make HOFs incredibly useful for creating "biocomposites" materials that combine natural and synthetic components to serve specific purposes. In 2019, we achieved a major breakthrough by successfully encapsulating enzymes (proteins that speed up chemical reactions) into HOFs. This innovation showed that HOFs can perform better than similar materials for certain applications in biocatalysis and biosensing. However, making HOFs is still a tricky process, and scientists dont fully understand how to control their formation. To unlock the full potential of HOFs, we aim to improve them by combining them with other materials, like inorganic nanoparticles (NPs). These tiny particles could add extra features that are yet to be achieved, such as magnetic properties or improved chemical reactivity. This project sets out to lead the way in developing cutting-edge materials by attaching both enzymes and nanoparticles to HOFs. The result will be multicomponent HOF biocomposites, or NP-ENZ@HOF. These new materials will be designed with two goals in mind: (1) to better understand how they form, including the stages where they nucleate (start forming), grow, and solidify into a crystal structure; and (2) to create materials with practical uses, such as sensors that respond to magnets or systems that can carry out complex chemical reactions by combining enzyme and nanoparticle functions. To achieve this, we will study the interactions between the ingredients that make up the final materials: HOFs, enzymes, and nanoparticles. We will use advanced tools like X-ray diffraction to look at the crystal structure, vibrational spectroscopies to understand chemical bonds, and scattering techniques to observe the growth process in real time as it happens. Once the materials are developed, their performance in real-world applications will be tested. For example, their ability to catalyze (speed up) chemical reactions will be studied. This work is groundbreaking because it explores a completely new area of science: the synthesis of innovative multicomponent HOF materials that combine enzymes and nanoparticles. These innovations could lead to a new generation of materials with many uses in industries like biotechnology, healthcare, environmental science, and more.