Synthesis, structure and properties of matter and materials

The main object of the research programme is to find the posssible correlation between the specific macro properties of the compounds and their structure on the atomic or molecular level. The research programme could be divided in several parts. A part of the research will be oriented towards the synthesis of new metal carboxylates and their derivatives using different carboxylic acids and biologically-active ligands. The synthesized compounds will be characterized using several physico-chemical methods. The determination of the biological activity will be one of the major task. We shall attempt to synthetise several polinuclear complexes of the transition elements (Zn, Co, Ni, Fe) as model structures for enzymes containing several metal atoms. Complexes of metals with some antibiotics will also be studied. Some research will be dedicated to the problem of incorporating unsoluble ionic fluorides into the soluble organometallic compounds. Since all above studies are using the tools of the modern X-ray structural analysis the development and the use of new methods in single-crystal as well as in powder diffractometry will also form part of our research interest. The second stream of our research will be in the field of new processes and technologies for preparing the special products and materials – nanomaterials and nanotechnology. The correlation between the structural and biological properties is of fundamental importance for understanding the nature (using model compounds and structural knowledge). Studying the biological activity of the compounds can lead us to the product which could be potentially used eg. as wood protection chemicals or medicinal drug. One of the most important aspect of the modern scientific research is also the preparation of the special materials on the nanoscale. The above research is mainly fundamental. It is closely connected with the undergraduate and postgraduate study at the Faculty of Chemistry and Chemical Technology, University of Ljubljana. One of the main object of our research is to attract young scientists that they can through research attain enough practical experiences and skills they will use later on at their professional R & D laboratories.