CAREER: Tunable Isomorphic Architectures

非技术摘要：该项目旨在开发一种通用的方法，通过自组织分子过程来控制和预测制备纳米结构材料。在纳米材料中控制特征尺寸的能力为电池、燃料电池和太阳能电池等一系列实际应用带来了显著的性能改进。然而，由于缺乏定义明确的纳米材料，每个特征都可以独立调整，因此理解这些性能变化一直受到阻碍。大多数现有的方法无法提供系统的控制，其中一个特征尺寸保持不变，而另一个特征尺寸是逐步精确地调整的。获得这种纳米材料可以大大加快改进能源技术的研究和开发。此外，建议的方法成本低，可扩展，以广泛支持负担得起的更好能源技术的工业制造。该项目的综合教育计划旨在激发广大受众对先进纳米材料和能源相关研究的兴趣。部分活动包括教育推广活动，涉及代表不足的学生、经济困难的学生和第一代大学生。该项目培养学生对科学、技术、工程和数学(STEM)的兴趣，并包括劳动力发展，以满足对先进纳米材料和能源技术日益增长的需求。技术摘要：在能源转换和存储方面，很少有方面像多孔材料的结构和尺寸那样普遍和重要。尽管材料壁和孔具有基本和独特的作用，但系统地获得独立控制孔和壁尺寸的定义明确的纳米结构仍然是一个挑战。这些运输途径的连通性带来了额外的影响，理想的电化学研究需要一系列具有恒定形态对称性(同构)的体系结构。一类新的可编程材料被称为可调谐同构结构(TIA)，它将独特地实现分离电化学设备中与尺寸相关的性质的广泛查询。这项职业计划的目标是建立一个制造TIA的平台，其中壁和孔都可以在5到500 nm范围内独立调节。这些量身定制的纳米体系结构将支持基础研究和实现纳米优化设计。该程序独一无二地推进了动力学捕集，以克服平衡嵌段共聚物的基本限制。在这里，动态捕获的永久胶束模板(PMT)在添加材料期间保持恒定的大小，从而将孔径控制与壁厚控制分离。动力学控制在历史上很难重现，这一挑战现在通过可切换胶束捕获来解决，以产生遵循模型预测的可重现和均匀的体系结构。研究成果不仅将推动纳米材料的研究，还将使用一套有针对性的材料和应用程序在纳米结构-性质关系方面产生新的知识。该奖项反映了NSF的法定使命，并通过使用基金会的智力优势和更广泛的影响审查标准进行评估，被认为值得支持。

Non-Technical Abstract:This project aims to develop a general method for the controlled and predictable preparation of nanostructured materials via self-organization molecular process. The ability to control feature sizes in nanomaterials leads to significant performance improvements for a range of practical applications including batteries, fuel cells, and solar cells. Understanding these performance changes, however, has been hampered by a lack of well-defined nanomaterials where each feature could be adjustable independently. Most existing methods fail to deliver systematic control where one feature size is held constant and another is adjusted step-by-step with precision. Access to such nanomaterials can significantly accelerate the research and development of improved energy technologies. Furthermore, the proposed methods are low-cost and scalable to broadly support the industrial manufacturing of better energy technologies that are affordable. An integrated education plan of this project is designed to stimulate interest of broad audiences in advanced nanomaterials and energy-related research. Parts of the activities include educational outreach involving underrepresented students, economically disadvantaged students, and first-generation college students. The project fosters student interest in science, technology, engineering, and math (STEM) and includes workforce development to address growing needs in advanced nanomaterials and energy technologies.Technical Abstract:Few aspects are as prevalent and important in energy conversion and storage as the structure and dimensions of porous materials. Despite the fundamental and distinct roles of material walls and pores, there remains a challenge for systematic access to well-defined nano-architectures with independent control over the pore and wall dimensions. The connectivity of these transport pathways convolves additional effects, where ideal electrochemical studies require series of systematic architectures with constant morphology symmetry (isomorphic). A new class of programmable materials termed tunable isomorphic architectures (TIA) will uniquely enable broad inquiries that isolate dimension-dependent properties in electrochemical devices. The goal of this career proposal is to establish a platform for the fabrication of TIAs where both the walls and pores are independently tunable from 5 to 500 nm. These tailored nano-architectures will support both fundamental research and the realization of nano-optimized designs. This program uniquely advances kinetic entrapment to overcome the fundamental limitations of equilibrating block copolymers. Here, kinetically-trapped persistent micelle templates (PMT) maintain constant size during the addition of material and thus decouple pore size control from wall-thickness control. Kinetic control is historically difficult to reproduce, a challenge that is now resolved with switchable micelle entrapment to yield reproducible and homogeneous architectures that follow model predictions. The research outcomes will not only advance nanomaterials research, but also generate new knowledge in nanostructure-property relationships using a suite of targeted materials and applications.This award reflects NSF's statutory mission and has been deemed worthy of support through evaluation using the Foundation's intellectual merit and broader impacts review criteria.