An Interdisciplinary Approach to Understanding the Growth of Nanoporous Materials

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AbstractCTS-0103010P. Monson, U of Massachusetts Amherst This proposal was submitted in response to solicitation "Nanoscale Science and Engineering (NSF 00-119)" and requests support for an interdisciplinary research program concerned with understanding the growth of nanoporous materials- focusing on zeolitic materials. A research program in this area will have immediate impact on an enormous worldwide effort for developing porous materials with properties tailored at the nanoscale for applications such as catalysis or separations. Moreover, a central feature in the growth of such materials is the assembly of supramolecular precursor particles to form complex organic-inorganic structures with crystalline order. This mechanism is paradigmatic for the synthesis of a whole range of new materials, ranging from substrates for quantum confinement and laser applications to biomaterial implants with controlled porosity and nanostructure.The proposal has its origin in a collaboration among some of the PI's on the problem of crystal growth of silicalitc-1 zeolite, in which important features of a growth mechanism involving the formation and assembly of subcolloidal zeolite particles were elucidated. The collaboration featured both experimental work and modeling of the growth process. As this work developed it became clear that further progress would be greatly enhanced with a larger research team. In particular, it was clear that expertise was required in detailed atomistic modeling of the growth process as well as in characterization by light scattering and atomic force microscopy. The NSF NIRT initiative has created an opportunity for this research team to come to full fruition. Our interdisciplinary team involves researchers in four departments at the Universities of Massachusetts and Delaware, partnerships with companies at the forefront of applications of nanoporous materials and collaboration with a government laboratory.The project is divided into two main research areas: Synthesis, Purification and Structure of Subcolloidal Particles:Assembly of Subcolloidal Particles and Silicalite Crystal GrowthIn addition to elucidating fundamental aspects of zeolite growth, we anticipate that in the longer term our research will lead to novel assembly methods and the development of new materials grown by assembly of subcolloidal zeolite particles. Each of our research areas will feature both experimental and modeling investigations. A spectrum of modeling techniques will be employed spanning length scales from the atomistic level, required to understand the formation and structure of subcolloidal zeolite particles, to the mesoscopic level, required to understand the crystal growth habit of zeolite materials. The research program has substantial educational component including: the development of new graduate courses on nanoscale materials and on computational materials science at both partner Universities, industrial internships for graduate students and postdoctoral scholars, as well as involvement of undergraduate students in the research.