CAREER: Heat and Charge Transport in Metal-Molecule-Metal Junctions

通过在无机电极之间捕获有机分子而形成的无机-有机分子结有望具有不同于有机材料或无机材料的新的传输特性。使用由这种结组成的无机-有机杂化材料，有可能开发出成本效益高的热电和光伏设备。然而，要创造这些革命性的技术，首先必须了解分子结的热和电荷传输特性对以下因素的依赖：1)捕获在电极之间的有机分子的分子结构；2)电极的化学成分和由此产生的晶体结构。这项提议旨在通过实验研究分子结中的热和电荷输运来理解这种结构-性质关系。智力上的优点：这个程序将为理解由于声子和电子的限制而在纳米级分子结中发生的热和电荷输运现象的本质提供新的见解。在拟议的研究计划中，将开发一种新的技术，使研究分子结中的热和电荷传输成为可能。利用这项技术，将对各种单分子和多分子结进行实验，首次阐明分子结的结构与其导热系数之间的关系。此外，还将探索结构对分子结的电导和热电势的影响。广泛的影响：该计划包括探索纳米级分子结中的热输运，可能导致创建一个新的研究领域。这项拟议的工作可能会影响能量转换领域；一旦了解了输运性质对结构的依赖，就有可能利用金属-分子异质结构来调节分子结中的热和电荷传输，以创造廉价而高效的热电材料。拟议方案的教育和外展活动将针对不同教育水平的不同背景的学生。将鼓励来自伊普西兰蒂公立学区非裔美国人和拉丁裔社区的未被充分代表的学生学习科学和工程，方法是使用旨在说明纳米科学令人兴奋的可能性的教育模块。作为该计划的一部分，将引入一个新的为期两个学期的研究生序列，向工程师传授量子力学、固态物理和统计力学的高级概念。这将使他们能够在各种多学科领域进行研究，以解决可再生能源发电和高效能源转换和储存等重要问题。这门课程还将通过与NSF支持的NanoHub合作向国内和国际社会提供，NanoHub是一个在线课程材料储存库。

0844902Sangi ReddyInorganic-organic molecular junctions formed by trapping organic molecules between inorganic electrodes are expected to have novel transport properties that are unlike that of organic materials or inorganic materials. Using inorganic-organic hybrid materials made of such junctions, it may be possible to develop cost-efficient thermoelectric and photovoltaic devices. However, to create these revolutionary technologies, it is essential to first understand the dependence of heat and charge transport properties of molecular junctions on: 1) the molecular structure of the organic molecule trapped between the electrodes, and 2) the chemical composition and resulting crystal structure of the electrodes. This proposal aims to understand this structure-property relationship by experimentally studying heat and charge transport in molecular junctions.Intellectual Merit: This program will provide new insights into the nature of heat and charge transport phenomena that occur in nanometer-sized molecular junctions due to the confinement of phonons and electrons in them. A novel technique that will enable the study of both heat and charge transport in molecular junctions will be developed in the proposed research program. Using this technique, experiments will be conducted on a variety of single molecule and multiple molecule junctions to elucidate, for the first time, the relationship between structure of the molecular junctions and its thermal conductance. Further, the effect of structure on the electrical conductance and thermopower of molecular junctions will be explored.Broader Impacts: This program includes the exploration of thermal transport in nanometer-sized molecular junctions potentially leading to the creation a new research area. The proposed work may impact the field of energy conversion; once the dependence of transport properties on structure is understood, it may be possible to tune the heat and charge transport in molecular junctions to create inexpensive and efficient thermoelectric materials using metal-molecule heterostructures. The educational and outreach activities of the proposed program will target students from diverse backgrounds at various educational levels. Underrepresented students from the African-American and Latino communities in the Ypsilanti public school district will be encouraged to study science and engineering by using educational modules designed to illustrate the exciting possibilities of nanoscience. As part of this program, a new two-semester graduate sequence will be introduced to teach engineers advanced concepts from quantum mechanics, solid-state physics, and statistical mechanics. This will enable them to pursue research in a variety of multi-disciplinary areas to solve important problems like renewable energy generation and efficient energy conversion and storage. This course will also be made available to the national and international community by collaborating with the NSF supported Nanohub, an online repository of coursework materials.