for sharing their technical skill with me. I would like to thank my laboratory mates Deepa, Yinhua, Xu Chang, Chen Ke, Zhang Na, Jeanette, Kim and Zhiyi for sharing the good and bad times with me. I am grateful to the staff Eeling and Shuqi for their assistance in NMR and elemental analysis and to Celine for her help with regards to graduate matters. I am grateful to Nanyang Technological University for the award of a research scholarship. Most importantly, to my parents, I would like to express my heartfelt gratitude for their love and support during the pursuit for my PhD degree.