The Synthesis and Characterization of Imprinted Silica Using Nanoparticle Templates

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This project provides imprinted materials consisting of isolated pockets with interfaces of uniform and controllable structure, connectivity, and chemical composition, embedded within a bulk material framework. New synthetic methods are being developed for the synthesis of imprinted pockets within bulk inorganic oxide materials on the length scale of 2 to 15 nanometers, while retaining a high degree of control over interfacial states within the pocket. These nanoparticle-imprinted materials will be developed to study the effects of nanoscale assembly of fluorescently active molecules and metal/semiconductor nanoparticles within the confines of isolated mesoporous pockets in silica. There are currently few methods for the synthesis of solid-state materials that will permit such controlled assembly of functional elements, in part because much of the relevant length scales are inaccessible to conventional photolithographic methods of material synthesis. Imprinting is a promising approach for the synthesis of solid-state materials that can perform nanoscale assembly of functional elements. The designed and controlled assembly of matter promises to impact optical, electronic and functional materials for devices of all sorts. Because this is an area of high interest to industry, the graduate students, including women and minority students being recruited and educated, will be very competitive in the job market.