NIRT: Total Chemical Synthesis, Property and Modeling Studies of Nanoparticle/Polymer Hybrid Materials

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This proposal was received in response to Nanoscale Science and Engineering initiative, NSF 04-043, category NIRT. This proposed Team will work together to develop novel nanohybrid materials and to study the electrical, thermal, and optical properties of these materials. The team consists of material chemists, optical physicists, material engineers, and mathematicians. The material chemists will design and synthesize nanoparticle /polymer hybrid materials with a wide range of structures using chemical reaction methods. The optical physicists and material engineers will study and characterize the structure-property relations of the synthesized nanohybrid materials. The properties to be examined in this study include surface plasmon resonance, third-order nonlinear optical properties, electrical and thermal conductivities, and dielectric properties. These studies will provide the important foundation for further application development of such materials in electronics, devices, and sensors. A mathematician will work with the experimentalists to establish theoretical models of nanoparticle growth kinetics, and to predict nanohybrid material structure-property relations. The success of this project will lead to the development of a new fabrication technique for nanomaterials with well-controlled properties and foreseeable commercial applications. This project also offers an excellent opportunity for training the workforce in our society. Future advancement of science and technology relies heavily on multidisciplinary and interdisciplinary efforts. Undergraduate and graduate students, postdoctoral fellows, and high school science teachers working on this project will learn important skills to conduct interdisciplinary nanomaterial research, including nanomaterial synthesis, structure-property characterization techniques, and theoretical modeling tools to understand and solve scientific probl