S.B., University of Chicago (with Prof. Greg Hillhouse), 2010

Ph.D., MIT (with Prof. Mircea Dinca), 2015

Postdoc, University of Washington (with Prof. Daniel Gamelin), 2018

NSF CAREER Award, 2024

Dream Chemistry Award, 2022

Cottrell Scholar, 2022

Chemical Communications (RSC) Emerging Investigator, 2022

Journal of Materials Chemistry (RSC) Emerging Investigator, 2020

ACS Division of Inorganic Chemistry Young Investigator Award, 2016

Davison Thesis Prize, MIT, 2015

Washington Research Foundation Innovation Postdoctoral Fellow in Clean Energy, 2015

School of Science Appreciation Award, MIT, 2014

National Science Foundation Graduate Research Fellow, 2011-2014

Beckman Scholar Program Fellow, 2007-2009

The Brozek Lab studies redox processes of the "nanoscale gap" between small molecules and macroscopic materials. Systems existing on this size regime are widely pursued for tackling problems in energy capture and sustainable growth, and yet their intermediary behavior resists description by conventional concepts and tools. Our goal is to investigate the fundamental properties of compounds that blur the distinction between molecules and materials, and leverage this insight for designing better catalysts and electronic devices.

We synthesize soft materials, such as colloidal clusters, porous polymers, ionic liquids, and use physical inorganic methods to study their unique redox properties. By combining molecular precision with material characteristics, we can ask: What is the relationship between conductivity and reactivity? How does dynamic bonding impact delocalized behavior? How does the Seebeck effect emerge from molecules? In addition to these areas, students acquire training in air-free synthesis, spectroscopy, electrochemical techniques, and solid-state characterization.

• McKenzie, J.; Pennington, D. L.; Kadota, K.; Ericson, T.; Cope, E.; Cozzolino, A. F.; Hendon, C. H.*; Brozek, C. K.* "Tunable Interlayer Interactions in 2D van der Waals Frameworks" Adv. Mater. 2024 2409959.
• Davenport, A. M.; Marshall, C. R.; Kadota, K.; Andreeva, A. B.; Horike, S.; Brozek, C. K.* "Size-Dependent Spin Crossover and Bond Flexibility in Metal-Organic Framework Nanoparticles" J. Am. Chem. Soc. 2024, 146, 23692.
• Kadota, K.; Chen, T.; Gormley, E.; Hendon, C. H.; Dincă, M.; Brozek, C. K. "Electrically Conductive [Fe₄S₄]-based Organometallic Polymers" Chem. Sci. 2023 14, 11410.
• Fabrizio, K.; Gormley, E.; Davenport, A. M.; Hendon, C. H.; Brozek, C. K. "Gram Scale Synthesis of MIL-125 Nanoparticles and their Solution Processability" Chem. Sci. 2023, 14, 8946.
• Huang, J.; Marshall, C. R.; Ojha, K.; Shen, M.; Golledge, S.; Kadota, K.; McKenzie, J.; Fabrizio, K.; Mitchell, J. B.; Khaliq, F.; Davenport, A. M.; LeRoy, M. A.; Mapile, A. N.; Debela, T. T.; Twight, L. P.; Hendon, C. H.; Brozek, C. K. "Giant Redox Entropy in the Intercalation versus Surface Chemistry of Nanocrystal Frameworks with Confined Pores" J. Am. Chem. Soc. 2023,145, 6257.
• Marshall, C. R.; Dvorak, J. P.; Twight, L. P.; Chen. L.; Kadota, K.; Andreeva, A. B.; Overland, A. E.; Ericson, T.; Cozzolino, A. F.; Brozek, C. K. "Solution-Processable Nanocrystals of Conductive MOFs" J. Am. Chem. Soc. 2022, 144, 5784.
• Fabrizio, K.; Lazarou, K. A.; Payne, L. I.; Twight, L.; Hendon, C. H.; Brozek, C. K. "Tunable Band Gaps in MUV-10(M): A Family of Photoredox-Active MOFs with Earth-Abundant Open Metal Sites" J. Am. Chem. Soc. 2021, 143, 12609.
•  Andreeva, S. B.; Le, K. N.; Chen, L.; Kellman, M. E.; Hendon, C. H.; Brozek, C. K. “Soft Mode Metal-Linker Dynamics in Carboxylate MOFs Evidenced by Variable-Temperature Infrared Spectroscopy." J. Am. Chem. Soc. 2020, 142, 19291.
• Marshall, C. R.; Timmel, E.; Staudhammer, S. A.; Brozek, C. K. “Experimental Evidence for a General Model of Modulated MOF Nanoparticle Growth." Chem. Sci. 2020, 11, 11539.
• Marshall, C. R.; Staudhammer, S. A.; Brozek, C. K. “Size Control of Metal-Organic Framework Porous Nanocrystals." Chem. Sci. 2019, 10, 9396.