The increasing concentration of CO2 emissions in the atmosphere remains a primary driver of global climate change, making the development of advanced CO2 capture and utilization technologies an industrial and environmental imperative. This seminar outlines a systematic journey in the molecular engineering of porous organic polymers, demonstrating the strategic use of the synthetic chemistry toolbox to transform discrete molecules into sophisticated porous architectures for effective carbon management.

The talk begins with the transition from molecular cages to extended porous networks, emphasizing the precise control over porosity and CO2 adsorption performance.1 We will then focus on the simultaneous capture and chemical fixation of CO2 into value-added cyclic carbonates, facilitated by charged polymeric frameworks, known as “organic zeolites”.2 The discussion extends to direct air capture and subsequent conversion via sterically confined N-heterocyclic carbenes. Furthermore, the development of new sustainable synthetic routes using elemental sulfur will be presented as a strategy to improve cost efficiency for large-scale environmental applications. The talk then evolves into our landmark development of “Covalent Tricycloquinazoline Networks (CQNs)”, introducing a new chemical space through ionothermal synthesis.3 Building on this, I will present our recent work on monomer-engineered CQN extensions that demonstrate exceptional performance in CO2 mitigation and iodine capture. The talk concludes by illustrating how subtle structural modifications at the molecular level enable precise control over the CO2 capture capacity of the materials, bridging the gap between fundamental molecular design and practical environmental solutions.

Short Biography of the Speaker:

Dr. Onur Büyükçakır is an Associate Professor in the Department of Chemistry at the Izmir Institute of Technology (IZTECH). His research program sits at the intersection of synthetic organic chemistry, supramolecular design, and materials science, with a strategic focus on developing next-generation functional frameworks for clean energy, gas storage, and environmental remediation. Dr. Büyükçakır earned his Ph.D. in Materials Science and Nanotechnology from Bilkent University, specializing in supramolecular chemistry and molecular logic devices under the mentorship of Prof. Engin Umut Akkaya. He significantly broadened his research horizons through high-level international tenures, investigating mechanically interlocked molecules at Northwestern University (USA) with Nobel Laureates Prof. J. Fraser Stoddart and Prof. Jean-Pierre Sauvage. His professional career in South Korea is marked by excellence in world-class research institutions. Following a transformative postdoctoral tenure at KAIST with Prof. Ali Coskun, he served as a Tenure-track Researcher at the Center for Multidimensional Carbon Materials (CMCM), IBS-UNIST, under the leadership of Director Rodney S. Ruoff. During this period, he specialized in the precision functionalization of low-dimensional carbon architectures and advanced porous systems. Currently, the Büyükçakır Research Group at IZTECH leads interdisciplinary projects to address global sustainability challenges. With over 50 scholarly contributions in prestigious journals, Dr. Büyükçakır has established world-class expertise in the design of molecularly engineered functional materials for high-impact energy and environmental applications.