CAREER: Metal-Semiconductor Hybrid Core-Shell Heteronanostructures with Geometrically Tunable Optical Properties

该职业奖由固态与材料化学（SSMC）和电子与光子材料（EPM）计划共同赞助，旨在在集合和单纳米粒子水平上对金属-半导体核-壳杂化异质结构的几何依赖光学特性进行定量理解。拟议的研究将按照3M（制造、测量、模型）策略进行，该策略涉及实验和理论相结合的努力。强大的湿化学方法将被开发，通过一整套重要的金属-半导体核-壳纳米粒子的几何和组成参数可以精确地精细控制。对粒子几何形状的严格控制将允许人们在可见光和近红外区域的宽光谱范围内系统地和有选择地微调粒子的协同光吸收和散射特性。详细的，定量的理解粒子几何和光学性质之间的相关性将通过结合光谱和电子显微镜测量发展，并进一步加强理论计算使用米氏散射理论和时域有限差分（FDTD）模拟。利用粒子的优势？几何和光学可调性，PI的团队将进一步探索利用工程混合纳米颗粒优化基于表面增强拉曼光谱和荧光光谱的分子传感和表征平台的新方法。金属-半导体杂化异质结构已经成为一类新的多功能亚波长光学元件，具有协同增强的光学特性，增强的光学可调性，甚至具有在任何孤立元件或其物理混合对应物中无法获得的新光学特性。该项目旨在对金属-半导体杂化异质结构的粒子几何形状和光学特性之间的关系进行定量理解。通过拟议的研究获得的知识将极大地增强我们的能力，选择性地将所需的光学特性应用到混合纳米颗粒材料和器件中，以广泛应用于材料和生命科学。有了这个奖项，PI将能够开发一个高度跨学科和协作的纳米科学研究和教育计划，涉及博士后、研究生、本科生和具有不同背景的高中生的广泛参与。博士后和PI小组的学生将在物理化学和材料科学的界面上接受跨学科和多学科的前沿研究培训。该项目将在南卡罗来纳大学和主要本科院校之间建立本科生研究伙伴关系，并组织夏季研究研讨会，以促进化学和材料科学的研究和教育，并帮助提高南卡罗来纳州科学、技术、工程和数学（STEM）专业的入学率和保留率，尤其是女性和学术上代表性不足的少数族裔。在课程开发方面，PI将开发新的实验室模块，将尖端纳米科学研究纳入本科和研究生课程。将开展外展活动，通过一年一度的南卡罗来纳科学与工程博览会的科学演示，以及为高中学生和教师提供暑期研究指导，向当地初中和高中的青少年传授纳米科学和纳米技术。

TECHNICAL SUMMARYThis CAREER award co-sponsored by the Solid State and Materials Chemistry (SSMC) and the Electronic and Photonic Materials (EPM) programs aims to develop quantitative understanding of the geometry-dependent optical characteristics of metal-semiconductor core-shell hybrid heteronanostructures both at the ensemble and single-nanoparticle levels. The proposed research will be carried out following a 3M (Make, Measure, Model) strategy that involves combined experimental and theoretical efforts. Robust wet chemistry approaches will be developed through which a whole set of important geometrical and compositional parameters of the metal-semiconductor core-shell nanoparticles can be precisely fine-controlled. The tight control over the particle geometries will allow one to systematically and selectively fine-tune the synergistic light absorption and scattering properties of the particles over a broad spectral range across the visible and near-infrared regions. Detailed, quantitative understanding of the correlation between particle geometry and optical properties will be developed through combined spectroscopy and electron microscopy measurements and further enhanced by theoretical calculations using Mie scattering theory and Finite Difference Time Domain (FDTD) simulations. Taking the advantage of the particles? geometrical and optical tunability, the PI's group will further explore new ways to utilize engineered hybrid nanoparticles for the optimization of molecular sensing and characterization platforms based on surface-enhanced Raman and fluorescence spectroscopies.NON-TECHNICAL SUMMARY Metal-semiconductor hybrid heteronanostructures have emerged as a new class of multifunctional sub-wavelength optical components with synergistically reinforced optical features, enhanced optical tunability, and even new optical characteristics that are otherwise inaccessible in any of the isolated components or their physical mixture counterparts. This CAREER grant aims to develop quantitative understanding of the relationship between the particle geometry and optical characteristics of metal-semiconductor hybrid heteronanostructures. The knowledge gained through the proposed research will greatly enhance our capabilities to selectively implement desired optical properties into hybrid nanoparticle-based materials and devices for widespread technological applications in materials and life sciences. With this award, the PI will be able to develop a highly interdisciplinary and collaborative nanoscience research and education program that involves broad participation of postdoctoral fellows, graduate, undergraduate, and high school students with diverse backgrounds. The postdocs and students in the PI's group will receive interdisciplinary and multidisciplinary training on cutting-edge research at the interface of physical chemistry and materials science. The PI will build undergraduate research partnerships and organize summer research workshops among University of South Carolina and Primarily Undergraduate Institutions to promote research and education on chemistry and materials science and help increase the enrollment and retention rate, especially those of female and academically underrepresented minorities, in the Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics (STEM) majors in the State of South Carolina. For course development, the PI will develop new lab modules to incorporate cutting-edge nanoscience research into the undergraduate and graduate courses. Outreach activities will be developed to educate teenagers from local middle schools and high schools about nanoscience and nanotechnology through scientific demos at annual South Carolina Science and Engineering Fair and summer research mentorships for high school students and teachers.