CAREER: SusChEM: Hybrid Nanoparticles of the Copper Sulfides

范德比尔特大学的Janet E Macdonald在化学系高分子、超分子和纳米化学计划以及可持续化学、工程和材料(SusChEM)倡议的支持下，致力于基于硫化铜纳米颗粒制备新型光催化剂的研究。这项研究的目的是开发形状和尺寸可控的合成方法，以获得新的和未被开发的硫化铜相，并对其晶体结构和光致发光现象有一个基本的了解。此外，还将开发和研究金属-半导体复合硫化铜纳米粒子的光诱导电荷分离及其在光催化分解水生成氢气方面的应用。这些合成和新的纳米粒子将有助于先进的光催化剂设计的研究，以及构建稳定、活性、无毒、可行的太阳能绿色燃料光催化剂。该职业奖的部分教育目标是通过范德比尔特夏季学院和范德比尔特学生科学志愿者将研究纳入田纳西州初中生和高中生的外展计划，从而鼓励经济困难和代表性不足的群体进入物理和材料科学领域。

Janet E Macdonald from Vanderbilt University is supported by the Macromolecular, Supramolecular and Nanochemistry Program in the Division of Chemistry and the Sustainable Chemistry, Engineering and Materials (SusChEM) initiative to pursue research into the preparation of new photocatalysts based on nanoparticles of the family of copper sulfides. The research aims to develop shape and size controlled syntheses to new and underexplored phases of the copper sulfides, and to gain a fundamental understanding of their crystallographic structures and photoluminescence phenomena. Syntheses of hybrid metal-semiconductor nanoparticles of the copper sulfides will also be developed and studied for their photoinduced charge separation and application towards photocatalytic water splitting to give H2 gas.These syntheses and new nanoparticles will facilitate the study of advanced photocatalyst design, and the building of stable, active, non-toxic, viable photocatalysts for green fuel generation from solar energy. The educational goals of this CAREER award is in part to integrate the research into outreach programs to Tennessee middle and high school students through the Vanderbilt Summer Academy and the Vanderbilt Students Volunteer for Science, thereby encouraging economically disadvantaged and underrepresented groups into careers in the physical and material sciences.