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

该提案是响应纳米尺度科学与工程计划，NSF 04-043，类别NIRT而收到的。该团队将共同开发新型纳米混合材料，并研究这些材料的电学、热学和光学特性。该团队由材料化学家、光学物理学家、材料工程师和数学家组成。材料化学家将使用化学反应方法设计和合成具有多种结构的纳米颗粒/聚合物杂化材料。光学物理学家和材料工程师将研究和表征合成的纳米杂化材料的结构-性能关系。在这项研究中要检查的性质包括表面等离子体共振，三阶非线性光学性质，电导率和热传导率，以及介电性质。这些研究将为该材料在电子、器件、传感器等领域的进一步应用开发提供重要的基础。一名数学家将与实验人员一起建立纳米颗粒生长动力学的理论模型，并预测纳米杂化材料的结构-性能关系。该项目的成功将导致一种新的纳米材料制造技术的发展，这种技术具有良好的控制性能和可预见的商业应用。这个项目也为培训我们社会的劳动力提供了一个极好的机会。未来科学技术的进步在很大程度上依赖于多学科和跨学科的努力。参与本项目的本科生、研究生、博士后和高中理科教师将学习进行跨学科纳米材料研究的重要技能，包括纳米材料合成、结构性质表征技术和理论建模工具，以理解和解决科学问题

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