Tunable isotropic metamaterials in the optical regime based on metal nanoparticle cluster assemblies

化学部支持斯坦福大学的Sassan Sheikholeslami成为美国化学竞争力研究员。Sheikholeslami博士将致力于使用自下而上的方法来合成具有特殊物理特性的新型材料(例如，具有负折射率的材料)。材料将通过金属纳米颗粒在DNA支架上的自组装来合成。PI将与劳伦斯伯克利国家实验室分子铸造厂的科学家合作。这项研究的最终目标是开发高效、廉价的方法来制作有趣的“超材料”。为了扩大参与范围，谢克霍勒拉米博士将与旧金山湾区的一位艺术家合作，举办一场有关纳米科学的展览，帮助公众了解这一重要的技术领域。像Sheikholeslami博士这样的研究旨在开发具有有趣和不同寻常的特性的新材料。Sheikholeslami博士专注于的特定材料(超材料)具有显著的光学性能，这与任何其他常见的光学材料都不同。类似的材料已经在实验室中用复杂而昂贵的光刻方法创造出来。Sheikholeslami博士正在开发一种方法，可以在烧瓶中以低得多的成本制造出这些材料。这样的工作使科学家能够开发出可能导致革命性技术的材料，这些技术可能会对光学、太阳能和国防产生影响。Sheikholeslami博士正在进行的扩大参与的努力，目的是让广大公众接触到化学科学的一个重要领域。

The Division of Chemistry supports Sassan Sheikholeslami of Stanford University as an American Competitiveness in Chemistry Fellow. Dr. Sheikholeslami will work on synthesizing new kinds of materials with unusual physical properties (e.g. materials with negative refractive index) using a bottom-up approach. Materials will be synthesized using self-assembly of metal nanoparticles with a DNA scaffolding. The PI will collaborate with scientists at the Molecular Foundry of Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory. The ultimate goal of this research is to develop efficient, inexpensive methods for making interesting 'metamaterials'. For his plan for broadening participation, Dr. Sheikholeslami will collaborate with a San Francisco Bay Area artist to develop an exhibition on nanoscience to help educate the public about this important area of technology. Research like that of Dr. Sheikholeslami is aimed at developing new materials with interesting and unusual properties. The specific materials that Dr. Sheikholeslami is concentrating on ('metamaterials') have remarkable optical properties, unlike any other common optical materials. Similar materials have been created in the laboratory with elaborate and expensive lithographic methods. Dr. Sheikholeslami is developing methods that will create these materials in a flask, at a much lower cost. Work like this enables scientists to develop materials that may lead to revolutionary technology that can have impacts in optics, solar energy, and defense. The efforts at broadening participation being pursued by Dr. Sheikholeslami are aimed at giving a broad cross section of the public exposure to an important area of the chemical sciences.