Actively Controlled Transport with Molecular Assemblies

在这项由分析和表面化学计划支持的研究中，目标是了解波动的化学平衡在纳米结构化学传感器的信号开发中所起的作用;并利用这种理解来开发新的电化学路线化学传感和制造刺激响应结构。纳米结构的一个关键特征是平衡状态下反应物和产物群体的波动所起的作用-只有当参与反应的分子数量很小时，波动才是重要的。该项目通过首先开发强大的制造方法来生产原子级结（ASJ）-几个原子宽的金属线来解决化学反应性的这些基本问题。然后，ASJ用于研究电子供体分子的波动吸附和解吸以及电化学过程，这些过程可用于化学传感或将纳米尺度图案模板化为超分子架构。该项目的更广泛影响将主要通过人力资源开发来感受。正在进行的活动，如开始教师研讨会在皮特康和夏季计划在克拉克亚特兰大大学将继续下去。此外，作为该项目的一部分，将为研究生提供大量的国际经验。学生们将与爱尔兰科克的廷德尔国家研究所（TNI）的生命科学接口组成员合作，每年将在TNI度过30天。拟议的国际部分的成功将通过联合撰写的会议演讲和同行评审的出版物的数量，如何有效地利用种子资金为两个实验室之间的后续联合努力获得资金以及退出访谈来判断。

In this research supported by the Analytical and Surface Chemistry Program, the goals are to understand the role played by fluctuating chemical equilibrium in developing signals at nanostructured chemical sensors; and to use this understanding to develop new electrochemical routes to chemical sensing and to fabricating stimulus-responsive structures. A key characteristic of nanostructures is the role played by fluctuations in populations of reactants and products at equilibrium - fluctuations that are significant only when the number of molecules participating in the reaction is small. This project addresses these fundamental issues of chemical reactivity by first developing robust fabrication methods to produce atom-scale junctions (ASJs) - metallic wires a few atoms wide. Then, the ASJs are used to study fluctuating adsorption and desorption of electron donor molecules and electrochemical processes that can be used either for chemical sensing or to template nanoscale patterns into supermolecular architectures.The broader impact of the project will be felt principally through human resource development. Ongoing activities such as the Beginning Faculty Workshop at PittCon and the Summer Program at Clark Atlanta University will be continued. In addition, a substantial international experience for graduate students will be developed as part of the project. The students will collaborate with members of the Life Sciences Interface group at the Tyndall National Institute (TNI) in Cork, Ireland and will spend up to 30 days each year at the TNI. The success of the proposed international component will be judged by the number of jointly authored conference presentations and peer-reviewed publications, how effectively the seed funding is leveraged to obtain funding for follow-on joint efforts between the two labs and by exit interviews.