CCI Phase I: NSF Center for Nanothread Chemistry

NSF纳米线化学中心开创了一种新形式的碳分子，当小分子阵列在压力下转化为钻石状几何形状的长线状分子阵列时形成。这些非凡的反应完全重组了起始分子中的每个原子，产生了高度有序的纳米线平行阵列。纳米线化学中心的研究人员团队旨在生产具有不同化学成分，结构和特性的全新纳米线系列。这些材料目前只能以非常小的数量制造，该中心的一个关键目标是学习如何制造更大数量的材料，以实现进一步的基础科学和技术影响。这种“柔性金刚石”材料可广泛用于高强度复合材料、能量存储和催化等应用领域。这些新的纳米材料也提供了一个丰富的场所，为公众宣传和培训下一代的新兴科学专业人士的多样化nanothread化学NSF中心定义的化学产生一类新的有机分子定义的普遍共价键连接在多个维度。 第一个这样的例子是纳米线，它是具有笼状键合的高度延伸的一维分子，类似于最薄的金刚石线，并被周围的氢覆盖。纳米线是通过一种创新的机械化学技术合成的，其中具有多个不饱和功能的分子在以仔细控制的速率施加的应力下反应。这种策略克服了传统的反应物和产物之间的局部化学反应的要求，从而允许更多的分子晶体反应成明确的结构。该中心的团队正在开发一个可操作的理解的反应机制，并使新的线程与内部杂原子和外部官能团的预期安排的设计。合成后修饰允许多功能地并入不同功能的新基团，并且还允许额外的结构阐述。纳米线的独特结构和性质为商业化提供了机会。该奖项反映了NSF的法定使命，并通过使用基金会的知识价值和更广泛的影响审查标准进行评估，被认为值得支持。

The NSF Center for Nanothread Chemistry pioneers a new form of carbon molecule, formed when arrays of small molecules transform under pressure into arrays of long thread-like molecules in a diamond-like geometry. These remarkable reactions totally reorganize every atom within the starting molecules to produce highly ordered parallel arrays of nanothreads. The team of researchers in the Center for Nanothread Chemistry aims to produce whole new families of nanothreads with diverse chemical compositions, structures, and properties. These materials can currently be made only in very small amounts, and a key goal of the Center is to learn how make larger quantities that will enable further fundamental science and technology impacts. This "flexible diamond" material may be broadly useful in application areas such as high strength composites, energy storage, and catalysis. These new nanomaterials also provide a rich venue for public outreach and the training of a diverse next generation of emerging science professionals.The NSF Center for Nanothread Chemistry defines the chemistry generating a new class of organic molecules defined by pervasive covalent bond connectivity in multiple dimensions. Nanothreads, the first such example, are highly extended one-dimensional molecules with cage-like bonding, akin to the thinnest possible threads of diamond and capped by circumferential hydrogen. Nanothreads are synthesized by an innovative mechanochemical technique in which molecules with multiple unsaturated functions react under stress applied at carefully controlled rates. This strategy overcomes the traditional requirement for topochemical commensuration between the reactant and product and thus allows for many more molecular crystals to react into well-defined structures. The Center team is developing an actionable understanding of the reaction mechanism and enabling the design of new threads with desired arrangements of both interior heteroatoms and exterior functional groups. Post-synthesis modification allows for versatile incorporation of new groups of diverse function and also allows for additional structural elaboration. The unique architecture and properties of nanothreads provide opportunities for commercialization. The interplay of theory, synthesis and characterization provides rich training opportunities for diverse groups of students and researchers.This award reflects NSF's statutory mission and has been deemed worthy of support through evaluation using the Foundation's intellectual merit and broader impacts review criteria.