Nanoporous Hybrid Photo-catalysts for Sustainable Chemical Processes

这个项目由哈佛大学辛西娅·弗兰德教授的研究小组进行，由美国国家科学基金会化学系的化学催化项目资助，旨在了解如何设计出有潜力提高能源效率和减少空气中有害污染物的新型材料。这项工作的总体目标是探索利用阳光驱动化学反应的潜力，这对减少能源使用和改善环境很重要。该项目的重点是了解如何利用金属的小结构（纳米结构）捕获可见光中的能量，并将这些能量用于化学反应。下一代科学工作者的培训也将通过这种跨学科研究来实现。这项研究将专注于多用途纳米多孔材料，因为它们有潜力通过跨太阳光谱的等离子体激发更充分地利用太阳能，而且它们在结构上很坚固。模型系统由氧化钛（110）支撑的银（金）纳米颗粒组成，也将使用理论、分子尺度成像和反应性研究相结合的方法进行研究。对这些模型系统的研究将阐明系统性质（例如，受体反应物分子或半导体覆盖层的电子态与SPR激发的对齐，SPR激发的空间范围，半导体层的大小和厚度）对光诱导过程的影响有多重要。了解化学物质的反应性，无论是挥发性有机化学物质（VOCs）还是化学合成中的关键反应物，都将是工作的重点。

This project, performed by the research group of Professor Cynthia Friend at Harvard University and funded through the Chemical Catalysis program in the Division of Chemistry at NSF, aims at understanding how to design new types of materials that have the potential to improve energy efficiency and to reduce the amounts of noxious pollutants in the air. The overall goal of this work is to explore the potential for harnessing sunlight to drive chemical reactions important in reducing energy use and improving the environment. The project is focused on understanding how to capture the energy in visible light using small structures (nanostructures) of metals and to use that energy for chemical reactions. Training of members of the next-generation scientific workforce will also be achieved through this interdisciplinary research.The research will uniquely focus on versatile nanoporous materials because of the potential for fuller utilization of solar energy through plasmonic excitations that span the solar spectrum and because they are structurally robust. Model systems, consisting of Ag (Au) nanoparticles supported on titanium oxide(110), will also be investigated using a combination of theory, molecular-scale imaging, and reactivity studies. The investigation of these model systems will elucidate how important system properties (for example, the alignment of the electronic states of the acceptor reactant molecules or the semiconductor overlayer with the SPR excitations, the spatial extent of the SPR excitation, the size and thickness of the semiconductor layer) affect the photo-induced processes. Understanding of the reactivity of chemicals that are either volatile organic chemicals (VOCs) or key reactants in chemical synthesis will be the focus of the work.