CCI Phase 1: NSF Center for MXenes Synthesis, Tunability and Reactivity (M-STAR)

NSF MXenes合成、可调谐和反应性中心(M-STAR)得到了化学部化学创新中心(CCI)的支持。MXenes代表着增长最快的2D功能材料家族，在能量储存、过滤和分离技术、医药、光电子学和复合材料领域显示出巨大的前景。对MXenes的兴趣源于这样一个事实，即这些结晶金属碳化物和氮化物具有巨大的表面积/体积比、强劲的金属导电性和几乎无限的表面功能化机会。这使得MXenes成为用于可调功能材料的唯一强大的化学构建块。M-STAR将建立关于如何通过改变MXen2DMXene片层的组成和将有机官能团附着到表面来操纵和增强MXenes的光学、电子和催化性能的知识和经验数据。该中心的活动将包括与工业合作伙伴积极参与，通过暑期学校和研讨会的跨学科轮换，促进MXene翻译，STEM(科学、技术、工程和数学)参与，以及为各种科学节和芝加哥科学与工业博物馆开发新活动。虽然MXenes在许多关键行业显示出巨大的技术前景，但这些2D材料受到可用于制造这些材料的合成方法类型的限制。此外，通过更好地了解MXenes的官能化修饰如何导致具有更高稳定性和可预测性的新的电化学和催化过程，可以增强这些功能2D材料的影响。M-STAR将开发通过化学气相沉积和熔盐辅助模板直接合成MXenes的新方法。对MXene反应性的基础研究将需要确定MXene基面相对于MXenes边缘的相对反应性；这将通过系统地改变MXene薄片的横向尺寸来实现。通过合成有机官能团共价键合在2D无机片层上的MXenes，形成有机-无机杂化MXenes，MXene化合物的结构可调性成为可能。M-STAR将把MXene有机和无机成分的结构/组成与它们的物理和化学性质联系起来。基础研究将包括通过化学设计将改性的MXenes作为可调节/可适应的超材料的检验。最后，M-STAR将探索MXenes和MXene组件在氢转移反应、C-C键形成反应和电化学氢释放中的反应活性和催化作用。所有这些实验将与理论、计算和机器学习方法相结合，以分析反应热力学和动力学，确定材料稳定性，并预测材料性能。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。

The NSF Center for MXenes Synthesis, Tunability and Reactivity (M-STAR) is supported by the Centers for Chemical Innovation (CCI) Program of the Division of Chemistry. MXenes represent the most rapidly growing family of functional 2D materials, exhibiting great promise in the areas of energy storage, filtration and separation technologies, medicine, optoelectronics, and composite materials. Interest in MXenes stems from the fact that these crystalline metal carbides and nitrides have huge surface-to-volume ratios, robust metallic conductivities and nearly limitless opportunities for surface functionalization. This makes MXenes uniquely powerful chemical building blocks for tunable functional materials. M-STAR will build knowledge and empirical data on how to manipulate and enhance the optical, electronic and catalytic properties of MXenes by changing the composition of their 2D MXene sheets and by attaching organic functional groups to the surface. Activities within this Center will include active engagement with industrial partners to promote MXene translation, STEM (science, technology, engineering and mathematics) engagement through a cross-disciplinary rotation of summer schools and workshops, and the development of new activities for various science festivals and associated with the Chicago Museum of Science and Industry.While MXenes show great technological promise in numerous critical industries, these 2D materials are limited by the types of synthetic approaches available to make these materials. Additionally, the impact of these functional 2D materials could be enhanced through an improved understanding of how functional modifications of MXenes can lead to new electrochemical and catalytic processes with greater stability and predictability. M-STAR will develop new methodologies for the direct synthesis of MXenes via chemical vapor deposition and molten salt-assisted templating. Fundamental studies of MXene reactivity will require determining the relative reactivities of basal planes versus the edges of MXenes; this will be achieved by systematically varying the lateral dimensions of MXene flakes. The structural tunability of MXene compounds will be enabled through the synthesis of MXenes with organic functional groups covalently bound to the 2D inorganic sheets, forming hybrid organic-inorganic MXenes. M-STAR will make connections between the structure/composition of MXene organic and inorganic constituents with their physical and chemical properties. Fundamental studies will include examinations of modified MXenes as tunable/adaptable metamaterials by chemical design. Finally, M-STAR will explore reactivity and catalysis by MXenes and MXene assemblies in hydrogen transfer reactions, C-C bond-forming reactions and electrochemical hydrogen evolution. All these experiments will be integrated with theory, computation, and machine learning methods to analyze reaction thermodynamics and kinetics, determine material stability, and predict material properties.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.