CCI Phase I: NSF Center for Nanothread Chemistry

美国国家科学基金会纳米线化学中心开创了一种新形式的碳分子，当小分子阵列在压力下转变成长线状分子阵列时，形成了类似钻石的几何形状。这些非凡的反应完全重组了起始分子内的每个原子，以产生高度有序的平行纳米线阵列。纳米线化学中心的研究小组旨在生产具有不同化学成分、结构和性能的全新纳米线家族。这些材料目前只能以非常小的数量生产，该中心的一个关键目标是学习如何大规模生产，从而进一步促进基础科学和技术的影响。这种“柔性金刚石”材料在高强度复合材料、储能和催化等应用领域可能具有广泛的用途。这些新的纳米材料还为公众宣传和培训多样化的下一代新兴科学专业人员提供了丰富的场所。美国国家科学基金会纳米线化学中心定义了一种化学反应，这种化学反应产生了一种新的有机分子，这种有机分子是由在多个维度上普遍存在的共价键连通性所定义的。纳米线是第一个这样的例子，它是高度延伸的一维分子，具有笼状键，类似于最薄的金刚石线，并被环绕的氢覆盖。纳米线是通过一种创新的机械化学技术合成的，在这种技术中，具有多种不饱和功能的分子在压力作用下以精心控制的速率反应。这种策略克服了传统的对反应物和产物之间拓扑化学对比的要求，从而允许更多的分子晶体反应成明确的结构。中心团队正在开发对反应机制的可操作理解，并使设计具有内部杂原子和外部官能团所需安排的新线程成为可能。合成后的修饰允许多种功能的新组合，也允许额外的结构细化。纳米线独特的结构和性能为其商业化提供了机会。理论、综合和表征的相互作用为不同群体的学生和研究人员提供了丰富的培训机会。该奖项反映了美国国家科学基金会的法定使命，并通过使用基金会的知识价值和更广泛的影响审查标准进行评估，被认为值得支持。

The NSF Center for Nanothread Chemistry pioneers a new form of carbon molecule, formed when arrays of small molecules transform under pressure into arrays of long thread-like molecules in a diamond-like geometry. These remarkable reactions totally reorganize every atom within the starting molecules to produce highly ordered parallel arrays of nanothreads. The team of researchers in the Center for Nanothread Chemistry aims to produce whole new families of nanothreads with diverse chemical compositions, structures, and properties. These materials can currently be made only in very small amounts, and a key goal of the Center is to learn how make larger quantities that will enable further fundamental science and technology impacts. This "flexible diamond" material may be broadly useful in application areas such as high strength composites, energy storage, and catalysis. These new nanomaterials also provide a rich venue for public outreach and the training of a diverse next generation of emerging science professionals.The NSF Center for Nanothread Chemistry defines the chemistry generating a new class of organic molecules defined by pervasive covalent bond connectivity in multiple dimensions. Nanothreads, the first such example, are highly extended one-dimensional molecules with cage-like bonding, akin to the thinnest possible threads of diamond and capped by circumferential hydrogen. Nanothreads are synthesized by an innovative mechanochemical technique in which molecules with multiple unsaturated functions react under stress applied at carefully controlled rates. This strategy overcomes the traditional requirement for topochemical commensuration between the reactant and product and thus allows for many more molecular crystals to react into well-defined structures. The Center team is developing an actionable understanding of the reaction mechanism and enabling the design of new threads with desired arrangements of both interior heteroatoms and exterior functional groups. Post-synthesis modification allows for versatile incorporation of new groups of diverse function and also allows for additional structural elaboration. The unique architecture and properties of nanothreads provide opportunities for commercialization. The interplay of theory, synthesis and characterization provides rich training opportunities for diverse groups of students and researchers.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.