Faculty of Science School of Chemistry

Brendan Abrahams

Lecturer

CONTACT DETAILS:

Address: School of Chemistry, University of Melbourne, Parkville, VIC 3010 Australia

Room: 101A

Email: bfa@unimelb.edu.au

 

Teaching responsibilities

 

Field of expertise
Coordination Networks

In association with Professor Richard Robson we are interested in generating novel finite and infinite networks and determining their structures using X-ray crystallography. Much of our research relies uponthe implementation of simple geometrical principles together with basic coordination chemistry in order to synthesise new types of materials that may offer unusual and useful chemical and physical properties.

A major focus of our work is to link metal centres with bridging ligands with a view to forming crystalline polymers. As an example, in some of our recent research we have focussed on the use of dicarboxylate bridging ligands. These ligands have been obtained by the oxidation of commonly occurring aldohexoses. A zinc complex of saccharate (a dicarboxylate derived from the oxidation of glucose) has an infinite 3D structure, which contains both hydrophobic and hydrophilic channels. A remarkable feature of this chiral network structure, is its ability to absorb a wide variety of guests with retention of crystallinity. In other work we have begun to use simple anions such as carbonates as bridging ligands in anionic networks. We have discovered that hydrogen-bonding cations such as guanidinium are able to exert a powerful structure-directing influence in the formation of some novel and particularly beautiful networks. In the structure represented (Fig.2), guanidinium ions (red) act as trigonal hydrogen bonding cations for the metal carbonate network (gold).

 

Figure 1 zinc complex of saccarate
Fig. 2 guanidinium ions
Figure 1
Figure 2

 

 

Selected Publications:
  1. Abrahams, B.F.; Haywood, M.G.; Robson, R., Journal of the American Chemical Society, 2005, 127, 816.
  2. Abrahams, B.F.; Haywood, M.G.; Hudson, T.A.; Robson, R., Angewandte Chemie International Edition, 2004 43, 6157.
  3. Abrahams, B.F.; Lang, J-P.; Xu, Q-F.; Yu an, R-X.; Angewandte Chemie International Edition, 2004, 43, 4741.
  4. Abrahams, B.F.; Hudson, T. A.; Robson, R., Journal of the American Chemical Society, 2004 126, 8624.
  5. Abrahams, B.F.; Hawley, A.; Haywood, M.G.; Hudson, T.A.; Robson, R.; Slizys, D.A., Journal of the American Chemical Society, 2004 126, 2894.
  6. Abrahams, B.F.; Haywood, M.G.; Robson, R., Chemical Communications, 2004, 938.
  7. Lang, J-P.; Xu, Q-F.; Chen, Z-N. and Abrahams, B. F., Journal of the American Chemical Society, 2003, 125, 12682.
  8. Abrahams, B.F.; Moylan, M.D.; Orchard, S.D.; Robson, R., CrystEngComm, 2003, 313.
  9. Abrahams, B.F.; Moylan, M.D.; Orchard, S.D.; Robson, R., Angewandte Chemie International Edition, 2003, 42, 1848.
  10. Abrahams, B.F.; Haywood, M.G.; Robson, R.; Slizys, D.A., Angewandte Chemie International Edition, 2003, 42, 1112.

 
 
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