Collaborative Research: Kinetics of Autonomous Catalytic Nanomotors in Confined and Crowded Environments

该项目的目标是通过整合实验和数值模拟来研究在受限和拥挤的环境中由化学反应驱动的自主纳米马达的运输。智力优势：这项工作是建立在PI最近在设计和制造具有平移和旋转运动的催化纳米马达方面的成功之上。通过阐明在有限空间中以及在存在具有不同热，机械和化学相互作用的其他粒子和电机的情况下，自主纳米电机运输所特有的新问题，拟议的研究将为颗粒运输现象的基础研究开辟新天地，并丰富颗粒运输理论。拟议的工作将受益于两个PI之间的协同合作，在纳米制造/表征和多物理模拟方面具有互补的专业知识，并得到最先进的计算和实验设施的支持。更广泛的影响：拟议的工作解决了一些最紧迫的问题，在理解纳米马达在实际应用中的运输，这里获得的见解将形成工程智能纳米系统的理论基础，有针对性的药物输送和疾病治疗，这可能会改变这些领域。该项目将包括强大和持续的教育计划，涉及具有不同种族背景的本科生和地区K-12学生。 本科研究经验帮助学生，其中许多是少数民族，通过在干学科的动手研究活动，发展对科学和工程的真正兴趣。外联工作将包括为高中生提供沉浸式的研究体验，并在大学水平的K-12外联项目中展示研究成果。该项目的跨学科性质，具有实验和模拟的独特组合，将为参与的学生提供独特的前沿科学和工程。

The objective of this project is to investigate the transport of autonomous nanomotors driven by chemical reactions in confined and crowded environments by integrating experiment and numerical simulations. Intellectual Merits: The work is built on the PIs recent success in design and fabrication of catalytic nanomotors with translational and rotational motion. By elucidating new issues unique to the transport of autonomous nanomotors in confined spaces and in presence of other particles and motors with different thermal, mechanical, and chemical interactions, the proposed research will break new ground for fundamental studies of particulate transport phenomena and enrich the theories of particulate transport. The proposed work will benefit from the synergistic collaboration between two PIs with complementary expertise in nanomotor fabrication/characterization and multi-physics simulations, and is supported by state-of-the-art computing and experimental facilities. Broader Impacts: The proposed work addresses some of the most pressing issues in understanding the transport of nanomotors in practical applications, and the insights gained here will form the theoretical foundation for engineering smart nanomotor systems for targeted drug delivery and disease treatment, which can potentially transform these fields. The project will include strong and sustained education programs involving both undergraduate students with diverse ethnical backgrounds and regional K-12 students. Undergraduate research experience helps students, many of them minorities, develop a genuine interest in science and engineering through hands-on research activities in STEM disciplines. Outreach efforts will include providing high school students with immersive research experiences and showcasing research in university-level K-12 outreach programs. The interdisciplinary nature of this project, with a unique combination of experiments and simulations, will provide the students involved with a unique exposure to cutting-edge science and engineering.