FRG: Magnetic and Optical Properties of Fe-Doped Titania Nanotubes

非技术描述：支持社会需求的技术突破，如太阳能采集器和改进的数据存储策略，需要具有新功能的新材料的突破性进展。 为此，该项目采用纳米技术的工具来制造，表征和定制基于钛-铁-氧化物的纳米管阵列的响应，同时具有采用电子电荷，磁自旋和光学响应的功能。 经过适当的设计，这些材料有望在设备中获得潜在的应用，以有效地吸收和传输太阳能和/或以更高的速度，精度和准确度处理数据。 这项研究是由科学和工程研究人员组成的跨学科团队进行的，包括学生，教师和各级经验的初级科学家的参与。 该提案的教育体验的独特之处在于有机会向学生介绍在布鲁克海文国家实验室的国家同步加速器光源等大型科学设施中进行研究的机会，以及该提案由女性为主的PI团队领导的事实，为学生和同事提供多样性模型。采用电化学方法制备了掺铁二氧化钛纳米管，并利用多种探针对其进行了研究（结构，磁性和光学，包括基于同步加速器的光谱学），以获得对它们的磁性，自旋电子，光学和磁催化性能作为组成和结构属性的函数。 由于纯二氧化钛是一种大禁带半导体，Fe的加入不仅扰乱了能带结构，而且由于Fe的大磁矩，还可以作为晶格改性的灵敏探针。 此外，纳米结构的二氧化钛由于其大的表面积而预期表现出增强的功能响应。以这种方式，期望在室温下在一种材料中开发用于组合的自旋电子学、光学和光催化性质的新型多功能纳米结构。 最终的设备应用在传感，催化和自旋电子学，使替代能源和数据处理技术的进步是可以预见的。

NON-TECHNICAL DESCRIPTION: Technological breakthroughs to support societal needs, such as solar energy harvesters and improved data storage strategies, require disruptive advances in new materials with novel functionalities. To that end, this project employs the tools of nanotechnology to fabricate, characterize and tailor the response of titanium-iron-oxide-based nanotube arrays with simultaneous functionality employing electronic charge, magnetic spin and optical response. Properly engineered, these materials hold promise for potential application in devices to efficiently absorb and transfer solar energy and/or to process data with increased speed, precision and accuracy. The research is carried out by an interdisciplinary team of researchers from science and engineering and includes the involvement of students, teachers and junior scientists at all levels of experience. Unique features of the educational experience of this proposal are the opportunities to introduce students to research at large scientific facilities such as the National Synchrotron Light Source at Brookhaven National Laboratory and the fact that the proposal is led by a majority female PI team, providing diversity models to both students and colleagues.TECHNICAL DETAILS: Iron-doped titania nanotubes are fabricated by electrochemical means and studied using a variety of probes (structural, magnetic and optical, including synchrotron-based spectroscopies) to obtain a fundamental understanding of their magnetic, spintronic, optical and magnetocatalytic properties as functions of composition and structural attributes. As pure titania is a large-bandgap semiconductor, Fe additions not only perturb the band structure but also serve as sensitive probes of the lattice modification by virtue of the large Fe magnetic moment. Further, nanostructured titania is anticipated to exhibit enhanced functional responses due to its large surface area. In this manner it is desired to develop novel multifunctional nanostructures for combined spintronic, optical and photocatalytic properties, at room temperature, in one material. Eventual device applications in sensing, catalysis and spintronics to enable advances in alternative energy and data processing technologies are envisioned.