Solution-grown Nanowire and Nanotube Arrays, and Ordered Hybrid Nanoarchitectures incorporating them

纳米技术的研究正在从研究相对孤立的纳米材料成分的独特性质转向产生和研究具有独特性质和在某些情况下违反直觉性质的纳米系统和纳米结构（例如负折射率超材料）。 虽然上一代的组件，如胶体量子点和金属纳米粒子在生物医学诊断和传感中表现得非常出色，但目前这一代的纳米架构有可能通过设计改进的光致发光，热致发光和催化剂来有意义地影响全球能源和排放问题。当这种纳米结构以有序的方式（优选地具有确定性的空间组织）将以下组分中的两种或更多种联合收割机组合时，它们是最强大的：半导体、低损耗金属和π共轭有机分子。 为此，Shankar集团将利用其在一维（1-D）半导体纳米材料方面的专业知识，并在其在光电器件，光催化剂，薄膜晶体管和生物传感器等器件的活性层中使用1-D纳米材料的良好记录基础上继续发展。*1-D纳米管/纳米孔/纳米棒阵列将被用作构建块，以合成更复杂和增强光电功能的人工结构纳米材料。等离子体激元，电子和激子效应在这种结构中的相互作用是现象学上丰富的，只是最近才得到应有的关注。智能地联合收割机组合上述三种组分的这种有序混合纳米结构提供了实现对光子和电子的活性的期望控制的工具，无论是通过吸收的改善、光学吸收和发光的操纵，还是电荷分离和电荷传输的增强。 我们进一步建议研究1-D纳米材料和混合纳米结构包含它们使用一套强大的光谱和瞬态技术来探测它们的光电性能。这些研究的科学目标是更深入地了解性能，而技术目标是了解和克服性能瓶颈，弥合材料结构和器件性能之间的差距。我们将继续努力推进孤立的纳米材料成分。 我们建议通过将对齐的纳米管/纳米棒阵列的阳极合成的前沿扩展到新的半导体类别，并通过释放电化学阳极氧化中磁场的全部潜力来实现这一点。光电子和光子器件涉及光和电荷的传输，色散和相互转换，形成本研究的最终目标。 这些设备对替代能源和信息技术行业都至关重要。**

Research in nanotechnology is moving from studying the unique properties of relatively isolated nanomaterial components to generating and studying nano-systems and nano-architectures with unique and in some cases counter-intuitive properties (e.g. negative index metamaterials). While the previous generation of components such as colloidal quantum dots and metal nanoparticles performed spectacularly in biomedical diagnostics and sensing more generally, the present generation of nano-architectures has the potential to meaningfully impact the global energy and emissions problems through the design of improved photovoltaics, thermophotovoltaics and catalysts. Such nano-architectures are most powerful when they combine two or more of the following components in an ordered fashion preferably with deterministic spatial organization: semiconductors, low-loss metals and pi-conjugated organic molecules. Towards this end, the Shankar group will use its expertise in one-dimensional (1-D) semiconducting nanomaterials and also build upon its strong track record in using 1-D nanomaterials in the active layer of devices such as photovoltaics, photocatalysts, thin film transistors and biosensors. ***1-D nanotube/nanopore/nanorod arrays will be used as a building block to synthesize artificially structured nanomaterials of greater complexity and enhanced optoelectronic functionality. The interaction of plasmonic, electronic and excitonic effects in such structures is phenomenologically rich and is only recently receiving the attention that it deserves. Such ordered hybrid nanoarchitectures that intelligently combine the above three components offer the tools to achieve the desired control over the activities of photons and electrons, be it through the improvement in absorption, manipulation of the optical absorption and luminescence, and enhancement of charge separation & charge transport. We further propose to study 1-D nanomaterials and hybrid nanoarchitectures containing them using a powerful suite of spectroscopic and transient techniques to probe their optoelectronic properties. The scientific goal of these studies is to gain a deeper understanding of the properties while the technological goal is to understand and overcome performance bottlenecks, and bridge the gap between material structure and device performance.****We shall continue efforts in advancing isolated nanomaterial components. We propose to do this by extending the frontiers of anodic synthesis of aligned nanotube/nanorod arrays to new classes of semiconductors and by unlocking the full potential of magnetic fields in electrochemical anodization.****Optoelectronic and photonic devices that involve the transport, dispersion and interconversion of light and charge, form the final goals of this research. Such devices are key to both the alternative energy and information technology industries.**