Kim Kimoon (born 1954) is a South Korean chemist and professor in the Department of Chemistry at Pohang University of Science and Technology (POSTECH).
In 1997, Kim was appointed director of the Center for Smart Supramolecules supported by the Creative Research Initiatives program under the Korean Ministry of Education, Science and Technology (MEST).
[22] Cucurbituril homologues display unique chemical properties as macrocyclic host molecules with exceptionally high binding affinities, and they have found use in host-guest chemistry and formation of supramolecular structures/assembly.
Using an enantiopure organic building block and metal ion, his team was able to synthesize a homochiral metal–organic porous material, POST-1, and demonstrate that it works as a chiral catalyst.
[28] Unlike conventional nanostructures built by reversible interactions/bonds, Kim discovered that the irreversible thiol-ene polymerization of rigid, disk-shaped building blocks resulted in robust hollow polymer nanocapsules with a narrow size distribution.
[29] He was able to control the size, shape, property and functionality of the nanostructured materials, including spheres,[29][30] film,[31] toroids, and tubular structures.