NIRT: Total Chemical Synthesis, Property and Modeling Studies of Nanoparticle/Polymer Hybrid Materials

本提案是对NSF 04-043 NIRT类纳米科学与工程倡议的响应。这个拟议的团队将共同开发新型纳米杂化材料，并研究这些材料的电学、热学和光学性质。该团队由材料化学家、光学物理学家、材料工程师和数学家组成。材料化学家将使用化学反应方法设计和合成具有广泛结构的纳米颗粒/聚合物杂化材料。光学物理学家和材料工程师将研究和表征合成的纳米杂化材料的结构-性能关系。本研究要考察的性质包括表面等离子激元共振、三阶非线性光学性质、电导和热导率以及介电性质。这些研究将为此类材料在电子、器件、传感器等领域的进一步应用开发提供重要的基础。一位数学家将与实验者合作，建立纳米颗粒生长动力学的理论模型，并预测纳米杂化材料的结构-性能关系。该项目的成功将导致一种新的纳米材料制备技术的发展，该技术具有良好的可控性和可预见的商业应用。这个项目也为培训我们社会的劳动力提供了一个极好的机会。未来科学技术的进步在很大程度上取决于多学科和跨学科的努力。参与该项目的本科生和研究生、博士后研究员和高中科学教师将学习进行跨学科纳米材料研究的重要技能，包括纳米材料合成、结构-性能表征技术以及理解和解决科学问题的理论建模工具。

This proposal was received in response to Nanoscale Science and Engineering initiative, NSF 04-043, category NIRT. This proposed Team will work together to develop novel nanohybrid materials and to study the electrical, thermal, and optical properties of these materials. The team consists of material chemists, optical physicists, material engineers, and mathematicians. The material chemists will design and synthesize nanoparticle /polymer hybrid materials with a wide range of structures using chemical reaction methods. The optical physicists and material engineers will study and characterize the structure-property relations of the synthesized nanohybrid materials. The properties to be examined in this study include surface plasmon resonance, third-order nonlinear optical properties, electrical and thermal conductivities, and dielectric properties. These studies will provide the important foundation for further application development of such materials in electronics, devices, and sensors. A mathematician will work with the experimentalists to establish theoretical models of nanoparticle growth kinetics, and to predict nanohybrid material structure-property relations. The success of this project will lead to the development of a new fabrication technique for nanomaterials with well-controlled properties and foreseeable commercial applications. This project also offers an excellent opportunity for training the workforce in our society. Future advancement of science and technology relies heavily on multidisciplinary and interdisciplinary efforts. Undergraduate and graduate students, postdoctoral fellows, and high school science teachers working on this project will learn important skills to conduct interdisciplinary nanomaterial research, including nanomaterial synthesis, structure-property characterization techniques, and theoretical modeling tools to understand and solve scientific probl