Dr. Walton’s research focuses on various aspects of the design and synthesis of functional porous materials for use in applications including adsorption separations, air purification, gas storage, chemical sensing, and catalysis. Her research group employs a combination of molecular modeling techniques and experiments to develop a molecular-level understanding of adsorption and diffusion properties of the materials. This approach allows researchers to fully characterize these novel systems and work toward enabling a more rational design of functional materials for adsorption applications. One of the major challenges in designing or identifying novel porous materials for adsorption applications is developing an in-depth understanding of structure-property relations and host-guest interactions. This information is critical because if the adsorption mechanisms are understood—i.e., how, where, and why a molecule adsorbs in a certain material—then this knowlesge can be exploited to design structures that interact more effectively with the molecule of interest.
