High Surface Area Nanostructured Materials for Chemical Analysis

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The Analytical and Surface Chemistry (ASC) Program of the Division of Chemistry supports the research program of Prof. Maryanne Collinson of Virginia Commonwealth University. Prof. Collinson and her students will design and fabricate three new classes of high surface area materials using a multifaceted approach that merges key features of sol-gel chemistry, templating, lithography, electrodeposition, and thin film preparation. At the heart of this proposal is the use of recessed electrodes as nanoscale flower pots to electrochemically grow 3D arrays of vertically aligned silica pillars using newly developed electrodeposition techniques. From an analytical perspective, such high surface area, three-dimensional supports provide a means to significantly improve response times, recovery rates, and throughput by enabling reagents encapsulated in the porous network to be more accessible to a diffusing substrate, a task that is necessary to improve their performance in chemical analysis. The study will provide excellent training opportunities for undergraduate and graduate students in a highly inter-disciplinary area at the interface between chemistry and material science and engineering. In addition to their research, Prof. Collinson and her students will promote chemistry to a broader audience through the development of an outreach activity specifically designed for K-5 children.