Chemical Control of Quantum Defects in Low-Dimensional Carbon Materials

有了这个奖项，化学系的大分子，超分子和纳米化学（MSN）计划正在资助马里兰州大学的YuHuang Wang教授研究化学缺陷对线性和二维碳材料物理性能的影响。就像海中的岛屿一样，这些缺陷在原本平坦的表面上成为活动的焦点。这些点是有趣的新化学和物理学可能发生的地方。这项研究的成功完成可能会为工程材料开辟一种全新的方法，这种方法可以转化为光学探针和选择性化学传感器的新入口。这项工作还计划通过研究生-本科生导师制直接吸引本科生（包括来自代表性不足群体的学生）参与研究项目。王教授的实验室正在通过将可控数量的官能团共价连接到半导体碳纳米管模型系统上来合成所提出的缺陷。这种类型的缺陷的美丽之处在于其更好的定义结构，出色的化学可调性，更重要的是，以前意想不到的荧光特性。激子或电子空穴对可以在量子缺陷位置发光，使得使用传统的光谱技术在实验上探测缺陷成为可能。这些化学定制的荧光量子缺陷将被探索为工程纳米材料的新工具，可能打破纳米管光致发光的暗激子限制，并探测可能难以捕获的化学事件。

With this award, the Macromolecular, Supramolecular and Nanochemistry (MSN) program of the Division of Chemistry is funding Professor YuHuang Wang of the University of Maryland to investigate the effect of chemical defects on the physical properties of linear and two dimensional carbon materials. As with islands in the sea, these defects serve as focusing points of activity on an otherwise plain surface. These points are where interesting new chemistry and physics can occur. Successful completion of the proposed study may open an entirely new approach to engineering materials that could translate into new entries into optical probes and selective chemical sensors. The proposed work is also projected to engage undergraduate students, including students from underrepresented groups, directly in the research program through graduate-undergraduate mentorship.The proposed defects are being synthetically created in Prof. Wang's laboratory by covalently attaching a controlled number of functional groups to semiconducting carbon nanotube model systems. The beauty of this type of defect is its better-defined structure, excellent chemical tunability, and more importantly, previously unexpected fluorescent properties. An exciton, or electron-hole pair, can light up at the quantum defect site, making it possible to experimentally probe defects using conventional spectroscopic techniques. These chemically tailored, fluorescent quantum defects will be explored as a new tool to engineer nanomaterials, potentially to break the dark exciton limit of nanotube photoluminescence, and to probe chemical events that could be otherwise difficult to capture.