Materials World Network: Templated Ordered Endohedral Fullerenes as Building Blocks for Quantum Computing

这笔赠款为材料系统和组装方法的开发提供资金，以创建针对量子计算组件的高度有序的功能纳米材料阵列。含有氮原子的面内富勒烯二聚体将被合成并以纳米相分离的嵌段共聚物的圆柱相的有机基质为模板，或者通过与刚性双位主体络合而被结合到纳米棒中。为了使用嵌段共聚策略获得合适的圆柱体直径，将使用三嵌段共聚物、高度不相容的两嵌段共聚物和均聚物-两嵌段共聚物共混物。对于纳米棒策略，将合成双环糊精和双杯芳烃。一旦模板化，含各向异性富勒烯的有机材料将使用机械剪切、溶剂退火法、磁场或这些方法的组合进行排列。对模板化和有序的内面体富勒烯材料的量子计算演示将使用电子自旋共振完成。这项研究是美国佐治亚理工学院和英国牛津大学研究人员共同努力的一部分。佐治亚理工学院的研究小组正在研究分级有序纳米复合材料的合成和表征。牛津大学团队正在领导一项广泛的全国性研究活动，为实用的量子信息处理器创造必要的组件。该项目将涉及本科生和研究生，他们将接受聚合物和纳米结构复合材料领域的培训。学生的教育将通过在英国合作实验室接受的国际经验和培训来加强。高中生和一名高中教师也将在暑期参加实验室研究。这一高度多学科的项目将为当前和未来的各种行业提供基础和应用知识。虽然量子计算机的前景是巨大的，但技术挑战要大得多。因此，这种设备的进步将广泛而显著地影响许多领域。总体而言，拟议活动的结果将影响基于将功能纳米结构纳入较大设备的所有材料的构建方法。

This grant provides funding for development of material systems and assembly methods to create highly ordered arrays of functional nanomaterials aimed at components of quantum computation. Endohedral fullerene dimers containing nitrogen atoms will be synthesized and templated into organic matrices of either cylinder phases of a nano-phase-separated block copolymer, or incorporated by complexation with a rigid ditopic host into a nano-rod. To achieve the appropriate cylinder diameter using the block copolymer strategy, triblock copolymers, highly incompatible diblock copolymers, and homopolymer-diblock copolymer blends will be employed. For the nano-rod strategy, bis- cyclodextrins and bis-calixarenes will be synthesized. Once templated, the anisotropic fullerene-containing organic materials will then be aligned using mechanical shear, solvent annealing, magnetic fields, or a combination of these methods. Quantum computing demonstration on the templated and ordered endohedral fullerene materials will be accomplished using electron spin resonance.This research is part of an integrated joint effort between researchers at the Georgia Institute of Technology (Georgia Tech) in the US and Oxford University in the UK. The Georgia Tech group is working on the synthesis and characterization of hierarchically ordered nanocomposite materials. The Oxford group is leading an extensive national research activity to create the necessary components for a practical quantum information processor. This project will involve undergraduate and graduate students that will be trained in the area of polymers and nanostructured composite materials. The students' education will be enhanced by the international experience and training received in collaborating laboratories in the UK. High school students and a high school teacher will also participate in laboratory research during the summers. This highly multidisciplinary project will provide fundamental and applied knowledge for a variety of current and future industries. While the promise of quantum computers is great, the technical challenges are far greater. Thus, progress toward such a device will broadly and significantly impact many fields. In general, the results from the proposed activity will impact construction methodologies for all materials based on the inclusion of functional nanostructures into larger devices.