LEAPS-MPS: Light Tunable Redox-Active Hybrid Nanomaterial with Ultrahigh Catalytic Activity for Colorimetric Applications

在这个由NSF化学部管理的项目中，密苏里州州立大学的Tuhina Banerjee教授和她的学生将开发一系列用于比色应用的光响应纳米级酶模拟物。这项研究将提供有关纳米材料的重要物理化学性质，结构-活性关系和反应动力学机制的基础知识。合成纳米材料及其催化活性将使用实验和理论方法相结合的研究。这项研究将在生物分析、环境和生物标志物检测的超灵敏比色分析开发中获得更广泛的应用。该项目将通过尖端的跨学科研究经验，为不同群体的学生，特别是代表性不足的少数群体成员提供科学机会。此外，该研究将被整合到密苏里州的本科课程中，学生将获得各种技能，并接受合成和表征技术的培训，这将对他们的整体职业发展产生巨大影响。还将通过研讨会和实验室体验为当地高中生开展外联活动，旨在鼓励不同的学生考虑STEM职业。 Banerjee教授将开发一种新的方法来提高纳米材料的催化性能，特别是表现出混合氧化还原状态。她和她的学生将合成一系列基于氧化铈的光响应纳米酶，探索氧化铈的表面化学，并研究其催化活性如何随着等离子体可调性而变化。这些新的混合氧化还原活性纳米结构将提供优于纳米级酶模拟物和具有低催化效率的天然过氧化物酶的优势。此外，这些纳米结构中的等离子体特性开辟了在可见光存在下通过等离子体激发实现光催化活性的可能性，并引入了以精确方式控制反应动力学的创新方法。该奖项反映了NSF的法定使命，并通过使用基金会的智力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 managed by the Chemistry Division at NSF, Professor Tuhina Banerjee and her students at Missouri State University will be developing a series of light-responsive nanoscale enzyme mimics for colorimetric applications. This research will provide fundamental understanding about the important physicochemical properties of the nanomaterials, structure-activity relationships and basics of reaction kinetics mechanisms. Synthesized nanomaterials and their catalytic activity will be investigated using a combination of experimental and theoretical approaches. The proposed research will find broader application in the development of ultrasensitive colorimetric assays for bioanalysis, environment and biomarker detection. This project will provide scientific opportunities to diverse cohort of students especially members of underrepresented minority groups through cutting-edge interdisciplinary research experiences. Further, the research will be integrated in undergraduate curriculum at Missouri State, where students will acquire diverse skills sets and get trained in synthetic and characterization techniques that will have huge impact on their overall career development. Outreach activities will also be initiated for local high school students through workshops and lab experiences with the aim of encouraging diverse students to consider STEM careers. Prof. Banerjee will develop a new approach for enhancing the catalytic performance of nanomaterials that in particular exhibit mixed-redox states. She and her students will synthesize a series of light responsive cerium oxide-based nanozymes and explore the surface chemistry of cerium oxide, and investigate how its catalytic activity changes with plasmonic tunability. These new hybrid redox-active nanostructures will offer advantages over nanoscale enzyme mimics and natural peroxidases that have low catalytic efficiency. Further, plasmonic characteristics in these nanostructures opens up the possibility of achieving ultrahigh catalytic activity in the presence of visible light through plasmonic excitations and introduces an innovative approach of controlling reaction kinetics in a precise fashion.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.