Natthawat Semakul

Presentation

Natthawat Semakul was born in Thailand. He earned a B.S. (Hons) in Chemistry from Chiang Mai University in 2010, where he developed a mild synthesis of cobalt titanate and worked as an intern at Chulabhorn Research Institute on the synthesis of Lamellarins natural products. As the Royal Thai Government scholarship recipient, he began graduate study on rhodium catalysis, C-H functionalization, and metalloenzyme with Professor Tomislav Rovis at Colorado State University, Fort Collins in 2011. In 2016, he moved with the group to Columbia University, New York where he completed his Ph.D. as a visiting researcher. In his graduate works, he developed cyclopentadienyl ligands on rhodium and efficient stereoselective reactions to synthesize various valuable nitrogen heterocycles. He began his independent career as a lecturer at Chiang Mai University in 2017, where his group interests encompass sustainable organic synthesis, ligand design for metal-organic frameworks, and porous organic polymers for adsorbents, Li-ion battery electrodes, and electrochemical sensors.

Research Project

Rechargeable batteries are key technology in the energy storage since they could help with the steadily energy supply. However, issues associated with traditional battery electrodes such as high toxicity, low recyclability, and limited availability and etc have been raised. More recently, organic materials have attracted an attention as alternatives to conventional battery electrodes due to their affordability, sustainability, and unlimited molecular design. However, the number of charge-discharge cycles and power capabilities of batteries employed organic electrodes are still problematic. Thus, designing of highly performing organic electrode materials is still challenging. We propose to design and synthesize biredox molecules and polymers and to investigate their use towards applications in symmetrical all- organic battery. Tailoring the physicochemical and electrochemical properties at the molecular scale becomes crucial, not only for boosting the activities of the existing materials but also for creating new type of molecular entities. Molecular design guidelines for the development of next generation of highly performing organic battery will be investigated.