Assoc. Prof. Dr. Onur BuyukcakirEducation
Professional Positions
Research Interest: Multifunctional Carbon Materials
Research Fellow (Jan. 2017 - Present)
Research Interest: Multifunctional Carbon Materials
Postdoctoral Research (Sept. 2013 - Jan. 2017)
About Onur: I was born in 1983 in Ankara, Turkey. I completed my undergraduate studies at the Department of Chemistry of the Middle East Technical University (METU) in 2006 and subsequently obtained a Master of Science (M.Sc.) degree in Chemistry from METU in 2008. While at METU, I conducted research with Professor Engin Umut Akkaya on the synthesis, characterization and applications of coordination polymers. In 2008, I began my Ph.D. studies at the Institute of Materials Science and Nanotechnology (UNAM) at Bilkent University, under the supervision of Professor Engin Umut Akkaya. During my Ph.D. studies, I worked in the area of supramolecular chemistry. My research primarily focused on the design and synthesis of fluorescent chemosensors responsive to medically important ions, as well as the applications of sensory probes in the development of molecular-scale logic devices. I have also actively participated in numerous other research projects, including light-harvesting systems and the development of photosensitizers for solar energy conversion systems (DSSCs). Between July 2011 and August 2012, I had the opportunity to join Professor J. Fraser Stoddart's research group as a visiting scholar and conduct part of my PhD studies at Northwestern University (Evanston, USA), thus allowing me to have research experience in a world-class research group. During this period, I have had the opportunity to expand my research experience into the domain of mechanically interlocked molecules (MIMs), with the goal of understanding the fundamental principles underlying the behavior of these molecules and their potential applications in materials science. I primarily focused on Cu(I) diimine complexes as an alternative to ruthenium-based sensitizers for dye-sensitized solar cells. In this project, I collaborated with Professor Jean-Pierre Sauvage (University of Strasbourg, France) and Professor Lin X. Chen (Argonne National Laboratory, USA). Then, I joined the Korea Advanced Science and Technology (KAIST) in Daejeon, South Korea, as a postdoctoral researcher in September 2013, working with Professor Ali Coskun. I have developed new strategies for synthesizing functional solid-state materials from molecular building blocks. In particular, I was interested in designing and synthesizing new porous organic materials for use in a wide range of applications, including gas storage, catalysis, and sensing. Furthermore, I also worked on post-functionalization of graphene and investigating their impact on hydrogen storage and various catalytic processes. Between January 2017 and June 2019, I worked as a research fellow at the Center for Multidimensional Carbon Materials (CMCM) of IBS (Institute of Basic Science, Ulsan, South Korea) with Professor Rodney S. Ruoff. Then, I worked as a tenure-track research fellow until June 2020. Then, I joined the Department of Chemistry at Izmir Institute of Technology (IZTECH) in June 2020 as an Assistant Professor and now work in the same institute as an Associate Professor.
