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，北卡罗来纳州立大学的Owen Duckworth、Matthew Polizzotto和Leslie Sombers以及Smithsonian Institution的Cara Santelli正在致力于一个具有巨大教育和培训潜力的项目。北卡罗来纳州立大学和史密森学会已经组建了一个跨学科小组，主要由职业生涯初期的调查人员组成，他们将与一批国际专家合作。该项目还将为一名博士后研究员、一名博士生和几名本科生提供研究经验，这些本科生来自科学、技术、工程和数学(STEM)中代表性不足的群体。由跨学科互动和前往国内和国际合作实验室所刺激的丰富的智力环境将为从事该项目的学生和博士后研究人员提供解决环境化学中新出现的问题所需的广阔视角和技术技能。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普通公众互动的机会。该项目侧重于了解矿物结构如何支撑真菌产生的锰氧化物的各种性质。从超级基金场地分离的氧化锰菌将用于生产掺杂不同金属离子的氧化锰纳米颗粒，这将导致结构变化，包括掺杂金属的位置、结构缺陷的数量、锰(III)含量和矿物层的有序性。这些颗粒将通过一系列尖端的光谱、显微、伏安、计算和X射线散射方法进行仔细的表征，以确定它们的结构和电学性质。氧化锰纳米颗粒与一组取代的苯二酚之间的氧化还原反应动力学和产物将被量化，以获得产生真菌的氧化物性质的整体视图。潜在的成果将是通过开发将矿物结构、电性和反应性联系起来的新的综合概念模型，以及开发环境修复和其他技术的新方法，来改变我们对表面化学的看法。

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.