Elucidating the Effects of Structure on the Redox Reactivity of Mycogenic Mn Oxide Nanoparticles

在这个由国家科学基金会化学部环境化学科学计划资助的项目中，北卡罗来纳州州立大学的Owen Duckworth、Matthew Polizzotto和Leslie Sombers以及史密森学会的Cara Santelli正在研究一个具有重要教育和培训潜力的项目。一个由北卡罗来纳州立大学和史密森学会的主要是早期职业调查人员组成的跨学科小组已经组建，他们将与一批国际专家合作。该项目还将为博士后研究员，博士生和来自科学，技术，工程和数学（STEM）代表性不足的群体的几名本科生提供研究经验。通过跨学科的互动和国内和国际合作实验室的旅行刺激了丰富的知识环境，将赋予学生和博士后研究人员在该项目上工作所需的广泛视角和技术技能，以解决环境化学中出现的问题。此外，史密森学会将通过在国家自然历史博物馆的各种外展活动为科学家提供教育和与公众互动的机会。该项目的重点是了解矿物结构如何构成真菌产生的锰氧化物的各种性质。从超级基金网站分离的锰氧化真菌将用于生产锰（IV）氧化物纳米粒子掺杂不同的金属离子，这将导致结构的变化，包括掺杂剂金属掺入的网站，结构缺陷的数量，锰（III）的含量，和矿物层的顺序的变化。这些颗粒将通过一系列尖端的光谱、显微镜、伏安、计算和X射线散射方法进行仔细表征，以确定它们的结构和电学性质。氧化锰纳米颗粒和一组取代的醌，其功能作为探针的氧化还原反应，氧化还原反应的动力学和产品之间的氧化还原反应将被量化，以获得一个整体的观点真菌氧化物的性能。潜在的结果将是通过开发新的综合概念模型来改变我们对表面化学的看法，这些模型将矿物结构，电特性和反应性联系起来，并开发新的环境修复方法和其他技术。

In this project funded by the Environmental Chemical Sciences Program in the Chemistry Division at the National Science Foundation, Owen Duckworth, Matthew Polizzotto, and Leslie Sombers of North Carolina State University and Cara Santelli of the Smithsonian Institution are working on a project that has significant educational and training potential. An interdisciplinary team of predominantly early-career investigators at NC State University and the Smithsonian Institution has been assembled who will collaborate with a cadre of international experts. The project will also provide research experiences for a postdoctoral fellow, a doctoral student, and several undergraduates from groups underrepresented in Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics (STEM). The rich intellectual environment stimulated by interdisciplinary interactions and travel to domestic and international collaborating laboratories will endow students and postdoctoral researchers working on the project with the broad perspectives and technical skills required to solve emerging problems in environmental chemistry. Additionally, the Smithsonian Institution will provide opportunities for scientists to educate and interact with the general public through a variety of outreach engagements at the National Museum of Natural History.The project focuses on understanding how mineral structure underlies various properties of Mn oxides produced by fungi. Manganese-oxidizing fungi isolated from a Superfund site will be used to produce Mn(IV) oxide nanoparticles doped with different metal ions, which will result in structural variability, including changes to the site of dopant metal incorporation, the number of structural defects, the Mn(III) content, and the ordering of mineral layers. The particles will be carefully characterized by a complementary array of cutting-edge spectroscopic, microscopic, voltammetric, computational, and X-ray scattering methods to determine their structure and electrical properties. Kinetics and products of redox reactions between the Mn oxide nanoparticles and a set of substituted quinones, which function as probes of redox reactivity, will be quantified to gain a holistic view of mycogenic oxide properties. Potential outcomes will be to transform our view of surface chemistry by developing new integrated conceptual models that link mineral structure, electrical properties, and reactivity, and the development of novel approaches to environmental remediation and other technologies.