Project Title Student name(s), major; Mentor name(s), department

Can a boronate-linked coordination polymer for the visible (i.e. colorimetric) and selective detection of benzene vapor be engineered? Project Objectives 1. To maximize the sensor response (i.e. color change) upon exposure to benzene by altering the molecular electronics of the synthetic building blocks that make up the coordination polymer. 2. To determine the mechanism by which color change occurs upon exposure of boronate ester coordination polymers to benzene (proposed to be a charge transfer event upon restructuring of the framework). Project Significance The application of this boronate ester polymer toward sensing benzene provides a novel, organic solution to a problem that has historically been solved by analytical techniques, often requiring trained operators and expensive equipment. The proposed approach has advantages in that the polymer is highly selective for binding benzene, inexpensive and easy to synthesize, and has an easily interpreted response (i.e. colorimetric). A boronate ester sensor could be used to detect harmful concentrations of benzene in areas where such a risk is known to exist, such as petroleum fueling stations and refineries. Background/Previous Wor