Nanomanufacturing of 3D Networks of 2D Materials for High Materials Performance

原子薄二维材料是一类新型材料，具有良好的材料性能，在光转换和信息技术等领域有着广泛的应用前景。例如，2D材料由于其膜状的薄结构而非常灵活，它们与光的相互作用非常强烈，并且它们的表面有利于传感分子和气体。它们目前仅在光学性能差的平坦表面上少量生长，这极大地限制了它们的潜力。然而，要将其成功集成到实际应用中，需要能够大量生产高质量和高性能2D材料的新的可扩展制造技术。该奖项将为通过可扩展和具有成本效益的纳米制造技术将2D层均匀地涂覆到3D基底上来制造2D材料的三维（3D）网络铺平道路。该项目将允许大规模制造2D材料纤维，并实现原子薄材料的许多新应用。此外，该项目还包括教育推广，重点是通过免费开放日活动和其他活动向公众介绍纳米科学和2D材料。它还将为代表性不足的群体和少数民族学生提供动手研究的机会。与Si或GaAs等传统材料相比，MoS2等一磅一磅的原子级薄2D材料具有产生三个数量级能量的潜力。然而，当它们以平面形式生长时，它们的光学性能极大地受到其极薄的影响。该奖项通过构建2D材料的3D网络，从纳米制造的角度解决了这个问题。在3D几何形状中沉积2D材料与平面材料相比具有明显的优势，因为它们的总表面积、材料量和光学性能（吸收和发射）可以显著增加。然而，到目前为止，还没有关于2D材料的3D网络的纳米制造的系统研究。该研究小组的目标是通过使用具有成本效益，可靠和可扩展的静电纺丝工艺用2D片材涂覆单个静电纺丝纳米纤维来缩小知识差距。静电纺丝用于生产聚合物氧化铝纳米纤维，然后通过热退火将其结晶成所需的晶相，用于成功的2D沉积。最后，使用可扩展的化学气相沉积（CVD）工艺沉积2D材料。制造网络的材料性能将被测试，技术将被结合到传统的CVD和静电纺丝技术中，以实现实际应用的2D系统。

Atomically thin two-dimensional (2D) materials are a new class of materials that have shown attractive material properties with potential applications in light-conversion and information technologies. For example, 2D materials are extremely flexible due to their membrane-like thin structure, they interact with light very strongly, and their surfaces are good for sensing molecules and gases. They are currently grown in small quantities only on flat surfaces with poor optical performance which greatly limit their potential. Their successful integration into real-life applications, however, requires new scalable manufacturing technologies capable of producing high quality and high performance 2D materials in large quantities. This award will pave the way to manufacture three-dimensional (3D) networks of 2D materials by conformably coating 2D layers onto 3D substrates by scalable and cost-effective nanomanufacturing techniques. This project will allow large scale manufacturing of 2D material fibers and enable many new applications of atomically thin materials. Additionally, this project includes educational outreach, with a strong emphasis on bringing an understanding of nanoscience and 2D materials to the general public through free open house events and other activities. It will also give hands-on research opportunities to underrepresented groups and minority students. Pound-for-pound atomically thin 2D materials, such as MoS2, have the potential to generate three-orders of magnitude energy compared to conventional materials such as Si or GaAs. However, when they are grown in planar form, their optical performance greatly suffers from their extreme thinness. This award tackles this problem from a nanomanufacturing point of view by constructing 3D networks of 2D materials. Deposition of 2D materials in 3D geometry has distinct advantages over planar ones as their total surface area, material quantity, and optical performance (absorption and emission) can be increased significantly. However, no systematic studies exist to date on the nanomanufacturing of 3D networks of 2D materials. The research team aims to close the knowledge gap by coating individual electrospun nanofibers with 2D sheets using a cost-effective, reliable, and scalable electrospinning process. Electrospinning is used to produce polymeric alumina nanofibers, which are then crystallized by thermal annealing into desired crystalline phases for successful 2D deposition. Lastly, 2D materials are deposited using a scalable chemical vapor deposition (CVD) process. Material performance of manufactured networks will be tested and techniques will be combined into traditional CVD and electrospinning techniques to realize 2D systems for practical applications.