CAREER: SusChEM: Hybrid Nanoparticles of the Copper Sulfides

来自范德比尔特大学的Janet E Macdonald得到了化学系大分子、超分子和纳米化学项目以及可持续化学、工程和材料（SusChEM）计划的支持，致力于研究基于硫化铜家族纳米颗粒制备新型光催化剂。该研究旨在开发形状和尺寸控制合成新的和未开发的硫化铜相，并获得对其晶体结构和光致发光现象的基本理解。此外，还将开发和研究硫化铜杂化金属-半导体纳米粒子的合成及其在光诱导电荷分离和光催化水裂解制氢方面的应用。这些合成和新型纳米颗粒将促进先进光催化剂设计的研究，以及构建稳定、活性、无毒、可行的太阳能绿色燃料光催化剂。这个职业奖的教育目标部分是通过范德比尔特暑期学院和范德比尔特学生科学志愿者将研究整合到田纳西州初高中学生的推广项目中，从而鼓励经济上处于不利地位和代表性不足的群体从事物理和材料科学的职业。

Janet E Macdonald from Vanderbilt University is supported by the Macromolecular, Supramolecular and Nanochemistry Program in the Division of Chemistry and the Sustainable Chemistry, Engineering and Materials (SusChEM) initiative to pursue research into the preparation of new photocatalysts based on nanoparticles of the family of copper sulfides. The research aims to develop shape and size controlled syntheses to new and underexplored phases of the copper sulfides, and to gain a fundamental understanding of their crystallographic structures and photoluminescence phenomena. Syntheses of hybrid metal-semiconductor nanoparticles of the copper sulfides will also be developed and studied for their photoinduced charge separation and application towards photocatalytic water splitting to give H2 gas.These syntheses and new nanoparticles will facilitate the study of advanced photocatalyst design, and the building of stable, active, non-toxic, viable photocatalysts for green fuel generation from solar energy. The educational goals of this CAREER award is in part to integrate the research into outreach programs to Tennessee middle and high school students through the Vanderbilt Summer Academy and the Vanderbilt Students Volunteer for Science, thereby encouraging economically disadvantaged and underrepresented groups into careers in the physical and material sciences.