Ngong Kodiah Beyeh

Education and Research Experience
2017 – 2018    Visiting Professor, University of Windsor, ON, Canada
2015 – 2017    Research Associate, Aalto University, Finland
2012 – 2015    Academy of Finland Postdoctoral Researcher, Finland
2014 – 2014    Short Term Scholar, University of Texas at Austin, USA
2009 – 2012    Postdoctoral Researcher, University of Jyvaskyla, Finland
2010 – 2010    Guest Researcher, Free University of Berlin, Germany
2009 – 2009    Guest Researcher, Free University of Berlin, Germany
2007 – 2007    Guest Researcher, Free University of Berlin, Germany
2005 – 2005    Guest Researcher, Kekulé-Institute, University of Bonn, Germany
2005 – 2008    Ph.D., Organic Chemistry, University of Jyväskylä, Finland.
2002 – 2004    M.Sc., NanoScience, University of Jyväskylä, Finland.
1997 – 2000    B.Sc., Chemistry, University of Buea, Cameroon

Research Interests

Functional Materials via Receptor Chemistry

Mimicking biological recognition processes such as enzyme-substrate process, with synthetic molecules is a continuous challenge to supramolecular researchers. Within this project, we design and construct functional materials via combining receptors and (bio)polymers through multiple weak interactions. The chemical and physical properties of these (bio)materials, such as response to pH and as sensors, are investigated.

Receptors as multivalent Halogen Bond Donors/Acceptors

Hydrogen bonds are by far the most frequently used weak interactions in the design of organic supramolecular architectures. The discovery of halogen bond which results from the charge transfer interaction between polarized halogen atoms and Lewis bases is making a major stride in the construction of multiple architectures and has been shown to have applications in material science. It is analogous to hydrogen bond in terms of strength and directionality. For example, resorcinarene salts can act as multivalent halogen bond acceptors while haloethylnyl resorcinarene cavitands act as multivalent halogen bond donors. The form architectures ranges from deep cavity cavitands, dimeric assemblies to supramolecular polymers.

Host-Guest Chemistry

Multiple weak interactions are involved in complexes with receptors. Their host guest properties can be tuned by attaching substituents at specific locations on these receptors leading to exotic supramolecular asemblies and architectures such as open inclusion complexes, dimeric and hexameric capsules, and interlocked systems. These systems are studied in all phases (gas, solution and solid).

Publications - Selection of five highlights

1. Beyeh, N. K.; Nonappa, Liljeström, V.; Mikkilä, J.; Korpi, A.; Bochicchio, D.; Pavan, G. M.; Ikkala, O.; Ras, R. H. A.; Kostiainen, M. A. Crystalline Cyclophane–Protein Cage Frameworks, ACSNano, 2018, in press. DOI: 10.1021/acsnano.8b02856
2. Beyeh, N. K.; Díez, I.; Taimoory, S. M.; Meister, D.; Feig, A.; Trant, J. F.; Ras, R. H. A.; Rissanen, K. High-Affinity and Selective Detection of Pyrophosphate in Water by a Resorcinarene Salt Receptor, Chem. Sci., 2018, 9, 1358-1367. DOI:10.1039/C7SC05167K
3. Beyeh, N. K.; Pan, F.; Bhowmik, S.; Mäkelä, T.; Ras, R. H. A.: Rissanen, K. N-Alkyl Ammonium Resorcinarene Salts as High-Affinity Tetravalent Chloride Receptors, Chem. Eur. J., 2016, 22, 1355-1361. https://doi.org/10.1002/chem.201504514
4. Pan, F.; Beyeh, N. K.; Rissanen, K. Concerted Halogen Bonded Networks with N-Alkyl Ammonium Resorcinarene Bromides: From Dimeric Dumbbell to Capsular Architectures, J. Am. Chem. Soc., 2015, 137, 10406-10413. DOI: 10.1021/jacs.5b06590
5. Beyeh, N. K.; Pan, F.; Rissanen, K. A Halogen-Bonded Dimeric Resorcinarene Capsule, Angew. Chem. Int. Ed., 2015, 54, 7303-7307. https://doi.org/10.1002/anie.201501855