Vivian Wing Wah Yam
The University of Hong Kong
|
Primary Section: 14, Chemistry Membership Type:
International Member
(elected 2012)
|
Research Interests
Yam's research interests include inorganic/organometallic synthesis, supramolecular chemistry, photochemistry, solar energy conversion, and molecular functional materials, especially those involving the molecular design and synthesis of new classes of luminescent and chromophoric metal complexes and the investigation of their excited state properties and spectroscopic origins. Through functionalization with solubilizing and/or amphiphilic groups, unique aggregation phenomenon involving the supramolecular assembly of metal complexes via non-covalent metal-metal interactions that gives rise to drastic color and luminescence changes has been rendered observable in solution. These unique spectroscopic changes have provided the necessary information for the understanding and experimental quantification of these supramolecular non-covalent interactions. Utilization of these non-covalent metal-metal interactions for directed supramolecular assembly of clusters and metallamacrocycles as well as for the stabilization of supramolecular nanostructures and organogels has been demonstrated. These studies have provided an understanding of the structure-morphology-property relationship and a direct correlation of the strength of these non-covalent interactions to the stability of the supramolecular assemblies and nanostructures. Exploitation of the unique spectroscopic and luminescence properties associated with such non-covalent metal-metal interactions as reporters and probes of assembly-disassembly, folding-unfolding and aggregation-deaggregation processes and for the label-free sensing of molecules and ions of biological and environmental interest has also been demonstrated.
