On Apr. 30, Prof. Kim Kwang-soo (CHEM) announced “caliximi dazolium”, a new synthesized calix com-pound, for the first time through Nature Communications.
The molecule is named calix, which means “a cup” in Latin, because of its chalice-like shape. Unlike other molecules, this molecule is fixed in a specific shape. Unlike existing neutral calix molecules, imidazolium can combine with anions as a cation. Prof. Kim used this characteristic to synthesize calix-imidazolium.
The team also detected “fullerene”, a molecule that consists of 60 carbons shaped like a soccer ball, using calix-imidazolium. Fullerene is used as a nanomaterial but does not dissolute in water. Thus, it’s hard to use fullerene in chemical aqueous tests. Calix-imidazolium is expected to be used in medical diagnosis and pollution sensors, which detect anions.
Prof. Kim said “if calix-imidazolium is expanded in molecular size, it can detect larger anions as well as be used in research related to capacitive deionization like fullerene, graphene, and carbon nanotube.