RUI: Fullertubes and Metallofullertubes: New Molecular Architectures and Seminal Studies

在这个由化学系化学结构、动力学和机制B项目资助的本科机构研究项目（RUI）中，普渡大学韦恩堡分校化学和生物化学系的史蒂文·史蒂文森教授正在进行分离具有单层端帽的管状碳的不寻常分子的研究。这些分子由于其在电子、工程、催化和医学方面的潜在应用而引起了人们的极大兴趣。研究内容包括分析化学、有机化学、物理化学和材料化学。因此，该项目非常适合教育各种各样的早期职业科学家，包括那些在化学领域代表性不足的群体的成员。本研究计划有大量本科生和高中生参与。管状碳同素异形体由一层卷曲的石墨烯（即单壁纳米管部分）化学结合到一层碳原子组成，这些碳原子排列成半球形富勒烯端帽。根据管状带的手性和六边形/五边形富勒烯端帽的排列，这些全碳富勒管结构可以是金属的，也可以是非金属的。在这项研究中，将研究从不同的合成模式（即电弧与火焰）中获得的烟尘中这些富勒管的产率。还将研究三种不同的新型富勒管家族的存在。此外，还将研究过渡金属IIIB和4f块金属原子在这些富勒管中的封装。从这些富勒管结构的基础研究中得出的结果将会对那些广泛从事明确定义的石墨烯衍生系统中结构/功能关系研究的人产生兴趣和提供信息。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。

In this project for Research at Undergraduate Institutions (RUI), funded by the Chemical Structure, Dynamics & Mechanisms B Program of the Division of Chemistry, Professor Steven Stevenson of the Department of Chemistry and Biochemistry at Purdue University-Fort Wayne is performing research that is isolating unusual molecules of tubular carbons with single layer endcaps. These molecules are of significant current interest, due to their potential application in electronics, engineering, catalysis, and medicine. The research includes elements of analytical, organic, physical, and materials chemistry. As such, the project is well suited for educating a diverse array of early career scientists, including those who are members of underrepresented groups in the field of chemistry. Significant participation of undergraduate students as well as high school students is planned for this research project.Tubular-shaped carbon allotropes consist of a single layer of rolled graphene (i.e., single walled nanotube moiety) chemically bonded to a single layer of carbon atoms arranged as hemispherical fullerene endcaps. Depending on the chirality of the tubular belt and the arrangement of hexagonal/pentagonal fullerene endcaps, these all-carbon fullertube structures can either be metallic or non-metallic. In this research, the yields of these fullertubes in soot obtained from different modes of synthesis (i.e., electric-arc versus flame) will be studied. The existence of three different families of new fullertubes will also be studied. In addition, encapsulation of transition metal IIIB and 4f-block metal atoms into these fullertubes will be investigated. The results emanating from these fundamental studies on fullertube structures will like be of interest and informative to those engaged broadly in the study of structure/function relationships in well-defined, graphene-derived systems.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.