Welcome to the Straus Research Group in the Department of Chemistry at Tulane University. We specialize in the design, synthesis, characterization, and applications of molecular and extended crystalline materials. Areas of interest include magnetism and superconductivity in cluster-based materials, chiral materials for optics and spin-polarized charge transport, and extending the organic-inorganic hybrid materials paradigm beyond halides to include oxides.
Our lab space is 5071 Percival Stern Hall.
We are recruiting new graduate students. Prospective graduate students must apply to the Chemistry PhD program here: https://sse.tulane.edu/academics/graduate/admissions.
News
Our Department of Energy Genesis Mission proposal “Physics-Enhanced AI Framework for Discovering New
Classes of Unconventional Superconductors” was selected for funding! This project is a collaboration with Jianwei Sun and Ruiqi Zhang (Tulane Physics), Aron Culotta (Tulane Computer Science), and Huibo Cao (Oak Ridge National Laboratory). More information can be found in Tulane’s news article: https://news.tulane.edu/pr/department-energys-genesis-mission-selects-tulane-team-using-ai-discover-next-generation
Zheng’s paper on magnetic chirality in structurally chiral organic-inorganic hybrid perovskites was accepted for publication in JACS.
Z. Zhang, M. Xu, J. L. Gonzalez Jiminez, S. Zhang, W. Xie, X. Xu, D. B. Straus. “Chirality Transfer to the Magnetic Sublattice in the Hybrid Perovskite (R)-/(S)-3-Fluoropyrrolidinium Copper(II) Chloride.” J. Am Chem. Soc. (2026). DOI: 10.1021/jacs.6c11636 (link may not be active yet).
A preprint of Zheng’s paper (two years in the making) on a chiral organic cation inducing magnetic chirality in a centrosymmetric magnetic sublattice is now on arXiv.
Z. Zhang, M. Xu, J. L. Gonzalez Jiminez, S. Zhang, W. Xie, X. Xu, D. B. Straus. “Chirality Transfer to the Centrosymmetric Magnetic Sublattice in the Hybrid Perovskite (R)-/(S)-3-Fluoropyrrolidinium Copper(II) Chloride.” Submitted. Preprint: arXiv:2604.22952
Our second paper “Role of the Organic Cation in 2D Chiral Hybrid Palladium Chloride Materials” has been published in Inorganic Chemistry.
Z. Zhang, D. B. Straus. “Role of the Organic Cation in 2D Chiral Hybrid Palladium Chloride Materials.” Inorg. Chem. 64 22911 (2025). DOI: 10.1021/acs.inorgchem.5c04105
Our first paper has been published, and is the cover article for Volume 6 Number 18 of Materials Advances.
Z. Zhang, S. Biswas, M. M. Montemore, D. B. Straus. “The Emergence of Intrinsic Chirality in Copper and Palladium Chloride Materials.” Mater. Adv. 6 6262 (2025). DOI: 10.1039/D5MA00682A
Photos
Zheng working in the glove box 
Tower of furnaces 
Panalytical Aeris powder X-ray diffractometer 
Our Dynacool PPMS allows us to measure the magnetic, electronic, and thermodynamic properties of materials at temperatures from 1.7 to 400 K and at magnetic fields from 0 to ±9 T. 
Bruker D8 Venture single-crystal X-ray diffractometer (departmental equipment) 
Bruker D8 Quest single-crystal X-ray diffractometer (departmental equipment) 
Spin-coating system in fume hood. We have another one inside the glove box. 
Figuring out how to get the PPMS out of the crate 
About to roll the PPMS cryostat out of its crate 
Rolling the PPMS console out of its crate 
Nearly complete lab renovation 
The lab’s nitrogen gas distribution system