New Liquid Crystalline Materials for Electrooptical and Nuclear Radiation Sensory Applications

技术概述本项目的重点是使用多学科方法来了解合理设计的液晶材料在存在外部刺激(如电场和核辐射)时的行为，然后开发这些用于电光和传感应用的新材料。所建议的材料是向列型液晶，旨在利用硼原子团簇(例如碳硼烷)的独特空间和电子性质，以及用于捕获热中子的高截面硼原子核。该项目涉及在量子力学计算辅助下的新材料的分子设计，应用新的无机/有机合成方法，研究结构-性质关系，包括电光表征以及核化学和物理方面。这一多学科计划将为博士后研究人员、研究生和本科生提供极好的教育和培训机会，包括现代材料化学领域中未被充分代表的群体，包括化学合成、表征和设备工程元素。与橡树岭国家实验室工作人员的合作将为学生提供独特的研究体验，使他们在就业市场上具有独特的竞争力。预计在该计划下取得的成果将特别对无机化学领域做出贡献，并将对液晶研究的基础和应用方面产生重大影响。这些结果也将引起核安全人员的兴趣，它们将在开发新型中子探测器以解决与国家安全相关的重要问题方面发挥作用。

Technical summary The focus of this project is on using a multidisciplinary approach to understanding the behavior of rationally designed liquid crystalline materials in the presence of external stimuli, such as electric fields and nuclear radiation, and then to develop these new materials for electrooptical and sensory applications. The proposed materials are nematic liquid crystals designed to take advantage of unique steric and electronic properties of boron clusters (e.g. carboranes), and the high cross-section of the boron nucleus for capture of thermal neutrons. The project involves the molecular design of new materials aided by quantum-mechanical calculations, the application of novel inorganic/organic synthetic methods, studying structure-property relationships, to include electrooptical characterization and aspects of nuclear chemistry and physics. Non-technical summary This multidisciplinary program will provide excellent opportunities for the broad education and training of post-doctoral researchers, and graduate and undergraduate students including underrepresented groups in areas of modern materials chemistry to include chemical synthesis, characterization, and elements of device engineering. Collaborations with staff at Oak Ridge National Laboratory will provide unique research experiences for the students that will make them uniquely competitive in the job market. It is expected that results obtained under this program will contribute especially to the field of inorganic chemistry and will have significant impact on fundamental and applied aspects of liquid crystal research. The results will also be of interest to nuclear safety personnel, and they will play a role in the development of new types of neutron detectors to address important issues related to national security.