Texas A&M University
University of Kiel
University of Kiel
I received an MS Degree in Chemistry from the University of Kiel, Germany in 2008 and in 2010 was awarded a PhD under the supervision of Professor Christian Näther in Kiel, working in the field of magnetic framework materials. Followed by a 2 1/2 year postdoctoral assignment at Texas A&M University in the research group of Professor Hong-Cai JOE Zhou where I focused my research on metal-organic frameworks with tunable physical properties. I have received several awards and fellowships including a postdoctoral fellowship from the German Academic Exchange Service and a PhD fellowship from the German Chemical Industry Fund and the German National Academic Foundation. I have authored >65 research papers published in peer-reviewed international journals. Since 2013, I have conducted independent research as an Assistant Professor at Clarkson University in Potsdam, NY. My research is focused on the design and structure-property relationships of new functional solid-state materials for energy applications. As representative examples, my recent independent work has been published in the Journal of the American Chemical Society and disseminated as an invited speaker at the Gordon Research Conference in crystal engineering.
In my free time, I usually spend time with family: my wife and two kids always keep me busy. We love to go hiking, kayaking and fishing. I also compete in endurance sports like running, triathlon and canoeing. Before I moved to the U.S. I pursued a professional sports career in canoeing for more than 15 years in total. However, in more recent years I became more focused on running and triathlon, especially Marathons (personal record 2:59 h) and Ironmans (personal record 10:33 h).
Research Interests
- Advanced porous materials for storage, separation, sensing and catalytic applications
- Metal-organic frameworks, coordination polymers
- X-ray crystallography, in-situ synchrotron-based powder diffractometry
- Magnetic frameworks
- Molecular magnets, single-molecule and single-chain magnets
Current Research
Wriedt lab conducts multidisciplinary research at the interface of chemistry and materials science. More specifically, our research program focuses primarily on the design, synthesis, characterization and application of functional metal-organic framework (MOF) materials. MOFs are advanced crystalline porous materials composed of metal clusters connected by polytopic organic linkers. Their framework structures, pore environments, and functionalities can be finely tuned by the choice and connection of metal and organic building blocks, allowing the design of innovative materials with properties tailored for numerous applications. In this vein, we address some of our society's most challenging needs, such as:
- Clean Energy Alternatives through the synthesis of tailored MOFs which can adsorb significant amounts of H2 or CH4 at ambient conditions;
- Reducing Greenhouse Gas Emissions through the synthesis of tailored MOFs which can capture CO2 from flue gas streams; and
- Ultra-High Density Information Storage Systems through using MOFs as platforms for the nanostructuring of molecular magnets.
- American Chemical Society Petroleum Research Fund, Doctoral New Investigator (2016-2018)
- Thank You to Faculty, Clarkson Student Ambassadors, Clarkson University (2014)
- American Crystallographic Association Travel Award (2012)
- German Academic Exchange Service Travel Award (2012)
- German Chemical Industry Fund Travel Award (2012)
- Otto-Diels Ph.D. Award (2011)
- Nobel Laureate Meeting in Lindau Fellowship (2009)
- German National Academic Foundation Ph.D. Fellowship (2009 – 2010)
- German Chemical Industry Fund Ph.D. Fellowship (2008 – 2010)
- Interdisciplinary Holsteiner Study Award (2008)
- German National Academic Foundation Studies Fellowship (2006 – 2008)
Peer-Reviewed Publications
W. An, D. Aulakh, X. Zhang, W.M. Verdegaal, K.R. Dunbar & M. Wriedt, "Switching of Adsorption Properties in a Zwitterionic Metal-Organic Framework Triggered by Photogenerated Radical Triplets" Chemistry Materials, 2016, 28, 7825−7832. Link to Article
M. Wriedt (corresponding author), J.P. Sculley, D. Aulakh & H.-C. Zhou, "Using Modern Solid-State Analytical Tools for Investigations of an Advanced Carbon Capture Material: Experiments for the Inorganic Chemistry Laboratory" Journal of Chemical Education, 2016, 93, 2068−2073. Link to Article
D. Aulakh, A.P. Nicoletta, J.R. Varghese & M. Wriedt, "The structural diversity and properties of nine new viologen based zwitterionic metal–organic frameworks" CrystEngComm, 2016, 18, 2189-2202.Link to Article
W.M. Verdegaal, K. Wang, J.P. Sculley, M. Wriedt & H.-C. Zhou, "Evaluation of Metal-Organic Frameworks and Porous Polymer Networks for CO2-Capture Applications" ChemSusChem, 2016, 9, 636-643. Link to Article
G. Singh, A. Arora, S. Rania, I.K. Maurya, D. Aulakh & M. Wriedt, "Heteroaryl chalcone allied triazole conjugated organosilatranes: Synthesis, Spectral Analysis, Antimicrobial Screening, Photophysical and Theoretical Investigations" RSC Advances, 2016, 6, 82057-82081. Link to Article
G. Singh, S. Chaudhary, A. Arora, D. Aulakh & M. Wriedt, "Thioester-appended organosilatranes: Synthetic investigations and application in the modification of magnetic silica surface" New Journal of Chemistry, 2016, 40, 6200-6213. Link to Article
D. Aulakh, J.B. Pyser, X. Zhang, A.A. Yakovenko, K.R. Dunbar & M. Wriedt, "Metal-Organic Frameworks as Platforms for the Controlled Nanostructuring of Single-Molecule Magnets" Journal of the American Chemical Society, 2015, 137, 9254-9257. Link to Article
G. Singh, S. Rani, A. Saroa, S. Girdhar, J. Singh, A. Arora, D. Aulakh & M. Wriedt, "Organosilatranes with thioester-anchored heterocyclic ring assembly: Cu2+ ion binding and fabrication of hybrid silica nanoparticles" RCS Advances, 2015, 5, 65963-65974. Link to Article
D. Aulakh, J.R. Varghese & M. Wriedt, "The Importance of Polymorphism in Metal–Organic Framework Studies" Inorganic Chemistry, 2015, 54, 8679-8684. Link to Article
D. Aulakh, J.R. Varghese & M. Wriedt, "A New Design Strategy to Access Zwitterionic MOFs from Anionic Viologen Derivates" Inorganic Chemistry, 2015, 54, 1756-1764. Link to Article