CAS: Enhancing the Reactivity and Photoreactivity of Metal Oxide Surfaces through Fluorination

在化学系大分子、超分子和纳米化学计划的支持下，康奈尔大学的Melissa Hines博士将使用扫描隧道显微镜、X射线光电子能谱和密度泛函理论研究氟化和氟掺杂二氧化钛的反应性和光反应性。由此产生的对这些表面的原子尺度的了解有望有助于开发可持续的、无毒的、富含地球的纳米催化剂和光催化剂。海因斯博士和研究团队正在推进纳米催化、可持续化学和表面科学的发现。这项研究还在培训下一代科学家，该领域对保持美国的经济竞争力非常重要。为了增加进入科技领域的学生的数量和多样性，他们正在为中学生开发模块，重点是定量测量和科学实验，学生和教师都参与其中。这项研究涉及化学反应的发展和一个研究氟化二氧化钛的溶液化学和光化学的超清洁反应器。这包括确定导致二氧化钛表面氟功能化的主要机制以及光生电荷载流子在这些机制中的作用，识别用于制备原子平坦的氟化二氧化钛表面的新氟化剂，以及评估氟化对二氧化钛光反应性的影响。这项研究还将讨论有机酸在水溶液中的光氟化。发展对这些表面及其反应性的原子尺度的了解，有可能使生产钝化的、抗污染的金属氧化物表面和高反应活性的光氟化催化剂在比目前的催化剂更环保的条件下运行。该奖项反映了NSF的法定使命，并通过使用基金会的智力优势和更广泛的影响审查标准进行评估，被认为值得支持。

With the support of the Macromolecular, Supramolecular, and Nanochemistry Program in the Division of Chemistry, Dr. Melissa Hines of Cornell University will investigate the reactivity and photoreactivity of fluorinated and fluorine-doped titanium dioxide using scanning tunneling microscopy, x-ray photoelectron spectroscopy, and density functional theory. The resulting atomic-scale understanding of these surfaces is expected to contribute to the development of sustainable, non-toxic, earth-abundant nanocatalysts and photocatalysts. Dr. Hines and the research team are advancing discovery in nanocatalysis, sustainable chemistry, and surface science. This research is also training the next generation of scientists in a field that is important to maintaining US economic competitiveness. To increase the number and diversity of students entering science and technology fields, they are developing modules for middle school students that focus on quantitative measurements and scientific experiments that engage both students and faculty.This research involves the development of chemical reactions and an ultraclean reactor to study the solution-phase chemistry and photochemistry of fluorinated titanium dioxide. This includes the determination of the primary mechanisms that lead to fluorine-functionalized titanium dioxide surfaces and the role of photogenerated charge carriers in these mechanisms, identification of new fluorination agents for preparing atomically flat fluorinated titanium dioxide surfaces, and assessment of the impact of fluorination on the photoreactivity of titanium dioxide. This research will also address the photo-fluorination of organic acids in aqueous solution. Developing an atomic-scale understanding of these surfaces and their reactivity has the potential to enable the production of passivated, contamination-resistant metal oxide surfaces and high reactivity photofluorination catalysts that operate under more environmentally friendly conditions than current catalysts.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.