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Research Group Homepage

Education

• Postdoctoral Fellow, Texas A&M University, 2017 – 2020
• Ph.D., Chemistry, University of South Florida, 2011 – 2016
• B.S. Chemical Engineering, Sun Yat-sen University, 2007 – 2011

Research Interests

Our lab focuses on leveraging nanospace within porous materials for energy-related critical issues at the interface of materials and organometallic chemistry. The confined nanospace from functional porous materials, such as metal-organic frameworks, covalent organic frameworks, and organic cages, provides unlimited opportunities and intriguing tools to interrogate fundamental questions in a variety of areas.

Divisions

Inorganic and Materials

Representative Publications

Salvador, F. E.; Miller, V.; Shimada, K.; Wang, C.-H.; Wright, J.; Das, M.; Chen, Y.-P.; Chen, Y.-S.; Sheehan, C.; Xu, W.; Rubasinghege, G.; Gao. W.-Y.* Mechanochemistry of Group 4 Element-Based Metal−Organic Frameworks. Inorg. Chem. 2021, 60, 16079–16084. DOI: 10.1021/acs.inorgchem.1c02704.

Jackson, N.; Vazquez, I. R.; Chen, Y.-P.; Chen, Y.-S.; Gao, W.-Y.* A porous supramolecular ionic solid. Chem. Commun. 2021, 57, 7248–7251. DOI: 10.1039/D1CC02806E.

Gao, W.-Y.; Sur. A.; Wang, C.-H.; Lorzing, G. R.; Antonio, A. M.; G. A. Taggart; Ezazi, A. A.; Bloch, E. D.; Powers, D. C. Atomically Precise Crystalline Materials Based on Kinetically Inert Metal Ions via Reticular Mechanopolymerization. Angew. Chem. Int. Ed. 2020, 59, 10878–10883. DOI: 10.1002/anie.202002638.

Gao, W.-Y.; Ezazi, A. A.; Wang, C.-H.; Moon, J.; Abney, C.; Wright, J.; Powers, D. C. Metallopolymerization as a Strategy to Translate Ligand-Modulated Chemoselectivity to Porous Catalysts. Organometallics 2019, 38, 3436–3443. DOI: 10.1021/acs.organomet.9b00162.

Gao, W.-Y.; Wu, H.; Leng, K.; Sun, Y.; Ma, S. Inserting CO₂ into Aryl C–H Bonds of Metal-Organic Frameworks: CO₂ Utilization for Direct Heterogeneous C-H Activation. Angew. Chem. Int. Ed. 2016, 55, 5472–5476. DOI: 10.1002/anie.201511484.

Gao, W.-Y.; Chen, Y.; Niu, Y.; Williams, K.; Cash, L.; Perez, P. J.; Wojtas, L.; Cai, J.; Chen, Y.-S.; Ma, S. Crystal Engineering of an nbo Topology Metal-Organic Framework for Chemical Fixation of CO₂ under Ambient Conditions. Angew. Chem. Int. Ed. 2014, 53, 2615–2619. DOI: 10.1002/anie.201309778.