Tunable catalytic surfaces synthesized and studied by in-situ methods

利用纳米结构对氧化物表面进行修饰的研究已经为光学、机械、化学和其他领域的应用产生了令人兴奋的材料。这些纳米结构的表面可以加速用于生产燃料的化学反应，从而实现更便宜、更高效、更环保的生产。因此，该项目将通过获得更实惠的燃料来源来保护国家安全。该项目将促进对纳米结构表面形成的各个方面如何促进大气排放物转化为燃料的理解。该项目还寻求通过结合传统和开创性的方法来整合研究和教育活动。例如，研究者计划在本科和高中课程中引入教育游戏和在线学习工具。扩大代表性不足群体参与STEM的努力的有效性将通过在线学习成果进行评估。研究人员的“材料对环境的影响”课程的研究生将有机会进行自清洁催化涂层的试点测试，该涂层将沉积在校园太阳能电池板上。传统的控制纳米颗粒形貌和尺寸分布的方法存在明显的缺陷。例如，封井和封包剂通常难以去除，导致表面污染，而物理沉积方法很难扩大规模。该项目提供了一种独特的方法，通过建立新的结构-性能关系来形成纳米结构表面，其中颗粒尺寸，金属氧化物界面和形状通过一种相对简单但新颖且可扩展的方法进行调整。调节还原温度、浓度、掺杂剂类型和氧空位的存在将能够控制颗粒大小和形态，这对于实现独特的催化性能至关重要。通过结合新的原位表征技术和基于机器学习可调表面的理论方法，将开发出能够将二氧化碳高转化为燃料的可调表面。该奖项反映了美国国家科学基金会的法定使命，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。

Research examining modification of oxide surfaces with nanostructure has produced exciting materials for optical, mechanical, chemical, and other applications. These nanostructured surfaces can accelerate the chemical reactions used to produce fuel, enabling cheaper, more efficient, and more environmentally-sound production. As such, this project stands to protect the Nation's security through access to more affordable fuel sources. The project will advance understanding of how aspects of the nanostructured surface formation can facilitate the transformation of atmospheric emissions into fuels. This project also seeks to integrate research and educational activities through a combination of traditional and pioneering approaches. For example, the investigator plans to introduce educational games and on-line learning tools into undergraduate and high school courses. The effectiveness of efforts to broaden the participation of underrepresented groups in STEM will be evaluated through the on-line learning outcomes. Graduate students in the investigator's "Materials Impact on the Environment" course will have the opportunity to conduct pilot testing of self-cleaning catalytic coatings, which will be deposited on on-campus solar panels. Traditional methods of controlling morphology and size distribution of nanoparticles have significant drawbacks. For instance, capping and encapsulating agents are usually difficult to remove, resulting in surface contamination, while physical deposition methods are challenging to scale up. This project offers a unique approach to forming nanostructured surfaces by establishing new structure-property relations, where particle size, metal-oxide interfaces, and shape are tuned by a relatively simple yet novel and scalable approach. Modulation of reduction temperature, concentration, type of dopants, and the presence of oxygen vacancies will enable control of particle size and morphology, which are critical for achieving unique catalytic properties. By combining new in-situ characterization techniques and theoretical methods based on machine learning tunable surfaces, capable of high conversion of carbon dioxide to fuels, will be developed.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.