EPSCoR Research Fellows: NSF: Identify Underlying Host-Guest Interactions Leading to Critical Properties Relevant to Water Purification in Metal-Organic Cages

This Research Infrastructure Improvement (RII) EPSCoR Research Fellows project provides a fellowship to an Associate professor and training for a graduate student at Louisiana State University (LSU). The work will be conducted in collaboration with Dr. Kristina Hakansson at the National High Magnetic Field Laboratory (NHMFL), operated by Florida State University. Through the fellowship, the Principal Investigator (PI) and trainee will study how metal-organic cages bind and remove charged molecules from water, including per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS). The work will support cleaner water technologies and improve understanding of PFAS removal. It will also help advances in human health, energy storage, catalysis, and related applications. The project will study cages that act like molecular sponges to measure how well they capture PFAS. The research will generate new fundamental knowledge about molecular recognition in complex host-guest systems. It will provide data for the design of more selective metal-organic cages for environmental and other applications. The team will prepare host-guest samples at LSU and analyze them at NHMFL using a 21-Tesla, Fourier-transform ion cyclotron resonance mass spectrometer. The project will strengthen LSU's research infrastructure by providing access to advanced instrumentation, technical training, and data-analysis expertise. It will also support the professional development of the PI and an NSF-supported graduate student. Through this collaboration, the team will expand LSU's supramolecular chemistry capacity, build a lasting LSU-NHMFL partnership, and produce data and skills that will support future research and workforce development. This project is supported by the EPSCoR Research Infrastructure Improvement Program: EPSCoR Research Fellows (ERF). The ERF program supports early- and mid-career investigators in eligible jurisdictions to develop collaborations at the nation's private, government or academic research in This award reflects NSF's statutory mission and has been deemed worthy of support through evaluation using the Foundation's intellectual merit and broader impacts review criteria.