Chemical Transformations of Nanoparticles for Isolation of Metastable Phases

该奖项由大分子、超分子和纳米化学（MSN）项目颁发，支持康奈尔大学理查德·罗宾逊教授的研究工作，该研究旨在研究控制纳米颗粒化学转化的基本化学原理。PI将使用最先进的实验方法研究纳米颗粒的化学转化，包括为同步加速器研究设计的新型先进的原位x射线吸收光谱（XAS）工具。提出的工作将试图揭示键形成动力学的新信息，包括无定形和晶体的贡献，氧化态的动态变化，配位化学，能带结构和局部结构。这些实验结果将与形成能、电子结构和扩散系数的第一性原理计算相关联，以建立对纳米颗粒化学转化的更全面的理解。这个提议的更广泛的影响，以及提议的工作的长期目标，是建立一个设计纳米粒子的合成后方法的工具包。该提案将几项教育倡议与研究工作结合起来。PI将通过参与有关纳米尺度的隐藏世界的新电影来发展他的全国推广工作。PI在当地和地区的拓展工作包括通过斯隆多样性研究员项目指导研究生，并将本科生纳入他的研究活动。

This award by the Macromolecular, Supramolecular and Nanochemistry (MSN) program supports work by Professor Richard Robinson at Cornell University - endowed to investigate the fundamental chemical principles governing chemical transformations of nanoparticles. The PI will investigate chemical transformations of nanoparticles using state-of-the-art experimental methods including a new, advanced in-situ x-ray absorption spectroscopy (XAS) tool that is designed for synchrotron studies. The proposed work will attempt to uncover new information on bond formation kinetics, including amorphous and crystalline contributions, dynamic changes in oxidation states, coordination chemistry, band structure, and local structure. These experimental results will be correlated with first-principles computations of formation energies, electronic structure, and diffusion coefficients to build a more comprehensive understanding of chemical transformations of nanoparticles.The broader impact of this proposal, and the long-term goal of the proposed work, is to establish a toolkit of post-synthetic methods for designer nanoparticles. The proposal integrates several educational initiatives with the research efforts. The PI will develop his national outreach efforts by participating in new films on the hidden world of the nanoscale. The PI's local and regional outreach efforts include mentoring graduate students through the Sloan diversity fellows program, and incorporating undergraduates into his research activities.