New Nanomanufacturing Techniques for the Fabrication of Plasmonic Surfaces for Photovoltaic, Catalytic and Sensing Applications

光与纳米尺度的金属颗粒之间的强烈相互作用为变革性的传感、催化和光伏技术提供了基础。尽管许多这样的装置已经成功地由这些所谓的等离子体纳米材料制成原型，但目前使用的制造技术虽然非常适合研究密集型环境，但与制造环境不兼容。该奖项支持一项旨在定义一种平台的研究工作，该平台用那些响应纳米制造的可伸缩性、吞吐量、产量和成本效益要求的技术来取代当前的最佳实践技术。如果纳米制造平台得到验证，它可以作为支持以下各项的合成基础：(I)能够检测各种癌症、大肠杆菌、爆炸物、药物和重金属污染物的传感器技术；(Ii)面向环境修复或由阳光驱动的“绿色”化学合成的催化表面；以及(Iii)依赖等离子体材料的新型光伏发电。研究活动正在通过培训本科生和研究生设计能够合成技术相关纳米材料并对制造过程进行实时监测的仪器的项目与教育举措相结合。正在开展的研究将确定制造光活性表面所需的纳米制造平台，该表面由复杂的三维纳米结构的周期性阵列组成，这些纳米结构表达实现光伏、催化和传感应用所需的强烈等离子体共振。它将利用现有的合成框架：(I)光刻技术在特定位置定义纳米结构前体，(Ii)定向组装将其转化为具有高结晶度和原始表面的纳米结构模板，以及(Iii)基于溶液的合成将这些模板雕刻成复杂的纳米结构。这些研究的目的是：(I)验证该合成框架是一个廉价的纳米制造平台，能够制造由亚50 nm纳米结构的周期性阵列组成的功能光活性表面，该阵列具有原始的表面和前所未有的复杂性，(Ii)克服与最大可实现阵列密度和潜在的产能瓶颈相关的现有知识障碍，如果不加以协调，这些瓶颈将挑战纳米制造平台的生存能力，(Iii)展示一套新的仪器，它响应纳米制造环境的可扩展性和产能需求，以及(Iv)建立能够实时提供所需的反馈的现场光学诊断，以将纳米结构组装过程引导到编程的端点。

The intense interactions between light and metal particles with nanoscale dimensions provide the foundation for transformative sensing, catalytic and photovoltaic technologies. Even though many such devices have been successfully prototyped from these so-called plasmonic nanomaterials, the fabrication techniques currently utilized, while well-suited to a research intensive environment, are incompatible with a manufacturing setting. This award supports a research effort aimed at defining a platform that replaces current best-practice techniques with those responsive to the scalability, throughput, yield and cost-effectiveness requirements of nanomanufacturing. If the nanomanufacturing platform is validated it could act as the synthetic foundation underpinning for: (i) sensor technologies able to detect various cancers, E. coli, explosives, drugs and heavy metal contaminents, (ii) catalytic surfaces geared towards environmental remediation or "green" chemical syntheses powered by sunlight and (iii) a new class of photovoltaics reliant on plasmonic materials. Research activities are being integrated with education initiatives through projects which train both undergraduate and graduate students in the design of instrumentation able to synthesize technologically relevant nanomaterials and provide real-time monitoring of manufacturing processes. Outreach initiatives are being directed toward the matriculation of women into the Engineering profession.The research being carried out will define the nanomanufacturing platform needed to fabricate photoactive surfaces comprised of periodic arrays of complex three-dimensional nanostructures which express the intense plasmonic resonances needed to enable photovoltaic, catalytic and sensing applications. It will utilize an existing synthetic framework whereby: (i) lithography defines nanostructured precursors at site-specific locations, (ii) directed assembly transforms them into nanostructured templates with high crystallinity and pristine surfaces and (iii) solution-based syntheses sculpt these templates into complex nanostructures. The studies aim to: (i) validate this synthetic framework as an inexpensive nanomanufacturing platform able to fabricate functional photoactive surfaces consisting of periodic arrays of sub-50 nm nanostructures with pristine surfaces and unprecedented complexity, (ii) overcome existing knowledge barriers related to the maximum realizable array density and potential throughput bottlenecks which, if left unreconciled, challenge the viability of the nanomanufacturing platform, (iii) demonstrate a new set of instrumentation which is responsive to the scalability and throughput needs of a nanomanufacturing setting and (iv) establish an in situ optical diagnostic which can in real-time provide the feedback required to direct nanostructure assembly processes to programmed endpoints.