CAREER: SUNCROPS (Solar-Fuels Using Nanoscale Catalysts Reacting on Polymer-modified Surfaces)

催化剂是一种化学物质，它为化学反应的发生提供了另一种途径，与没有催化剂的情况下进行的途径相比，这种途径消耗的能量更少，速度更快。一些催化剂在催化过程完成后很难回收。将它们附着在固体表面上可以提高它们的回收率，并提供了一条额外的途径来调整它们的催化能力。亚利桑那州立大学的加里·F·摩尔博士和他的研究团队正在开发创新的方法来创造和组装聚合物表面涂层，这种涂层将分子催化剂附着在固体上，有助于太阳能捕获和储存。催化剂-聚合物结构稳定了组成材料，并提高了它们在生产燃料和其他增值化学产品方面的效用，对环境的影响最小，为他的研究带来了更广泛的社会影响。摩尔博士积极参与外展项目，利用他在化学催化和能源科学研究中取得的进展，让学生参与科学、技术、工程和数学(STEM)学科。这些活动包括在摩尔博士的实验室中进行研究，以促进当地高中和美洲原住民部落中未得到充分服务的学生的教育。他的研究、教育和社会影响的结合扩大了学生对科学的参与，也是这一职业生涯的主要组成部分。在化学系化学催化计划的资助下，Gary F.Moore博士开创了新的合成方法，将分子氧化还原催化剂固定在半导体和导电固体上，同时使用表面接枝聚合物作为软支架来保持或增强其活性。在这些延伸的聚合物基质中，生物酶的主要特征被纳入催化剂设计，包括延伸的连接球体、底物输送和产物去除的通道以及废催化剂的再生策略。这些材料的功能性正在被研究，用于(光)电化学激活一系列工业上相关的氧化还原对，包括H+/H2，CO2/CO和N2/NH3转化，并用(光)电化学表征技术检测催化剂的活性。表面敏感表征方法包括掠射角、傅里叶变换红外光谱和X射线光电子能谱。研究成果的更广泛的社会影响来自于改进的用于太阳能发电的燃料和其他增值化学产品的催化剂设计。摩尔博士积极参与STEM外展项目，为来自当地高中和美洲原住民部落的传统上服务不足的学生提供指导和研究机会，鼓励有前途的学生在学业早期努力，并激励他们追求STEM职业生涯。他将研究、教育和社会影响相结合，扩大了学生对科学的参与，是这项职业资助的主要组成部分。

Catalysts are chemical substances that provide an alternative pathway for chemical reactions to occur that is less energy-intensive and more rapid than the pathway taken without the catalyst present. Some catalysts are difficult to recover when the catalytic process is completed. Attaching them to a solid surface improves their recoverability and gives an additional route to tailor their catalytic ability. Dr. Gary F. Moore and his team of researchers at Arizona State University are developing innovative ways to create and assemble polymeric surface coatings that attach molecular catalysts to solids that are useful for solar energy capture and storage. The catalyst-polymer construct stabilizes the component materials and enhances their utility for generating fuels and other value-added chemical products with minimal environmental impact, giving broader societal impacts to his research. Dr. Moore is active in outreach programs that engage students in the science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM) disciplines using topics that draw on advancements made in his research in chemical catalysis and energy science. These activities include research opportunities in Dr. Moore's laboratory to promote the education of under-served students from local high schools and Native American tribes. His integration of research, education, and societal impact broadens student participation in science, and is a major component of this CAREER grant.With funding from the Chemical Catalysis Program of the Chemistry Division, Dr. Gary F. Moore is pioneering novel synthetic methodologies to immobilize molecular redox catalysts onto semi-conducting and conducting solids while retaining or enhancing their activity using surface-grafted polymers as a soft scaffold. In these extended polymer matrices, key features of biological enzymes are incorporated into the catalyst design and include extended ligation spheres, channels for substrate delivery and product removal, and regeneration strategies for spent catalysts. The functionality of these materials is under investigation for (photo)electrochemically activation of a range of industrially relevant redox couples, including the H+/H2, CO2/CO and N2/NH3 transformations, and the catalyst activity is examined using (photo)electrochemical characterization techniques. Surface-sensitive characterization methods including grazing angle Fourier transform infrared and X-ray photoelectron spectroscopies. Broader societal impact of the research results from improved catalyst designs for solar generation of fuels and other value-added chemical products. Dr. Moore is actively engaged in STEM outreach programs that provide mentorship and research opportunities to traditionally under-served students from local high schools and Native American tribes, encouraging promising students early in their academic endeavors and inspiring their pursuit of STEM careers. His integration of research, education, and societal impact broadens student participation in science, and is a major component of this CAREER grant.