Synthesis and Assembly 2D Heterostructured Hybrid Stacks

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With the support of the Macromolecular, Supramolecular and Nanochemistry (MSN) program in the Division of Chemistry, Professors Vladimir Tsukruk and Zhiqun Lin of Georgia Institute of Technology will develop novel synthetic approaches to two-dimensional nanosheets and study the assembly and properties of the nanosheet stacks. Due to special Lego-like staggering of metal atoms and organic molecular species with controlled gaps between individual layers, these 2D stacks may possess useful ion transport, charge storage, and interfacial chemical properties for energy storage applications as for example might find application in lightweight battery technology. The research project will provide interdisciplinary research training to graduate and undergraduate students, including students from underserved groups. A life and career mini-workshop series will be established to provide opportunities for graduate and undergraduate students to interact with and learn from the experience of Professor Tsukruk’s former students and post-docs working in industry, national laboratories, and academia.Specifically, this collaborative research project by the Tsukruk and Lin laboratories will focus on the study of nanosheets of MXenes (with a general formula of Mn+1XnTx, where M is a transition metal, X is carbon and/or nitrogen, Tx is the surface functional group (e.g., OH, O or F), and n=1, 2 or 3) and metal oxides (V2O5, SnO2 and NiO). The research team will develop synthetic approaches to MXene/MOx nanosheets supported by organized reactive templates with oxidation stability, gap control, and assembly abilities. The integration of polymers and organic species with inorganic nanosheets may result in a controllable interlayer space and increased ion accessibility and structural stability. Three major research task of this project include: 1) synthesis of functionalized MXenes with tailored surface chemistry, symmetry, and dimensions by focusing on the rational design of heterostructured 2D MX/MOx binary and ternary stacks with functionalized nanosheets as pre-programmed reactive templates; 2) assembly and fabrication of both horizontal stacks and vertically aligned stacks composed of organic-inorganic composite nanosheets; and 3) real-time monitoring of ion transport by utilizing unique methods for in-situ neutron reflectivity and grazing-angle wide-angle X-ray scattering with in-situ high-resolution scanning probe microscopy for understanding fundamental characteristics of interfacial chemistry, confined ion transport, ion-walls interactions, and organization-transport relationships.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.