Chemically Programmed Construction of Complex Inorganic Nanostructures

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This Research award in the Inorganic, Bioinorganic and Organometallic Chemistry program supports work by Professor Raymond Schaak at the Pennsylvania State University to apply concepts from molecular chemistry to the synthesis of complex one-dimensional inorganic nanostructures. By developing a library of chemical reactions that transform one type of metal nanostructure into a more complex one, it will be possible to apply a total synthesis approach to the formation of inorganic nanowires using the concepts of orthogonal reactivity, protection/deprotection, and site-specific modification. This research will generate fundamental new knowledge about inorganic reactions that occur on nanoscale solids and will lay the groundwork for the synthesis of complex nanowires with target features that include composition gradients, homogeneous dopants, core-shell structures, and highly-crystalline regions within complex nanowire systems. The chemistry is being designed to be simple and straightforward, making it broadly applicable to a diverse group of scientists and engineers for widespread utilization. Undergraduate researchers will play a prominent and active role in the development of these chemical reactions. The chemistry and target systems will serve as a springboard for open-forum discussions about scientific ethics that will include undergraduate students, graduate students, postdocs, and faculty. In the future, these results will help researchers design next-generation nanomaterials for advancing applications as diverse as nano/microelectronics, thermoelectric refrigeration, superconducting interconnects, catalysis, and mechanical actuation.