CAREER: Controlled Dopant Migration by Atomic Trapping for Site-Specific Doping in Nanocrystals

掺杂剂是有意引入到主体材料中以改善物理性质和行为（或功能性）的杂质原子。 锡拉丘兹大学的郑教授和他的研究小组正在开发可靠的方法，将掺杂剂有效地掺入到特定位置的纳米晶体（尺寸约为人类头发宽度的1/1000倍）中。这个项目代表了掺杂剂的运动和迁移行为内纳米晶体的详细调查。 该研究解决了有关纳米材料成分依赖性的基本问题。 这项研究的结果可能对许多新兴技术产生影响，如太阳能收集、固态照明和量子计算。 在这个项目下进行的研究将被用来作为一种工具，在东锡拉丘兹米诺阿高中启动乒乓球背后的材料化学年度计划。纳米晶掺杂位置相关性能的研究将与乒乓球装备的微观组成相关性能联系起来。通过讨论体育背后的科学，该计划将具有高度的互动性，使材料化学更接近学生。该教育计划改善了初中和高中学生的主动学习过程，培养了他们早期对STEM教育的兴趣，并培养了STEM本科生和研究生的科学教学技能。郑教授得到了大分子，超分子，和NSF化学部的纳米化学计划，以探索定向掺杂剂迁移行为，并系统地控制掺杂剂的位置和内部分布基质半导体纳米晶体。该项目的目标是确定掺杂剂的空间分布是如何修改的影响下的局部晶格组成和应变在表面壳钝化和功能化的核/壳纳米晶体。该团队正在利用相对于掺杂剂具有相对较小的阳离子尺寸失配的局部晶格作为“原子陷阱”。 它们在中等温度下引发纳米晶体内的快速掺杂剂迁移。核/壳NC内特定掺杂剂位置的受控掺杂剂迁移可以微调主体-掺杂剂耦合，这为设计具有前所未有的性质的新型纳米材料提供了新的机会，用于双波段光学传感器、白色光发射器、该奖项反映了NSF的法定使命，并通过使用基金会的智力价值和更广泛的评估被认为值得支持。影响审查标准。

Dopants are impurity atoms that are intentionally introduced into host materials to improve physical properties and behavior (or functionality). Professor Zheng and his research group at Syracuse University are developing reliable methods for the effective incorporation of dopants into nanocrystals (of dimensions about 1/1000 times the width of human hair) at specific locations. This project represents a detailed investigation of dopant movement and migration behavior inside nanocrystals. The research addresses fundamental questions about the composition-dependent properties of nanomaterials. The results of this research could have implications in many emergent technologies such as solar energy harvesting, solid-state lighting, and quantum computing. The research performed under this project will be used as a tool to initiate anannual program of Materials Chemistry behind Table Tennis at the East Syracuse Minoa High School. The research on the dopant location dependent properties of nanocrystals will be linked to the micro-composition-dependent performance of table tennis gear. By discussing the science behind sport, the program will be highly interactive and make materials chemistry more approachable to students. The educational plan improves the active learning process among middle and high school students, fosters interest in STEM education at their early ages, and develops science teaching skills for STEM undergraduate and graduate students.Professor Zheng is supported by the Macromolecular, Supramolecular, and Nanochemistry Program of the NSF Division of Chemistry to explore directional dopant migration behavior and systematically control dopant location and distribution inside host semiconductor nanocrystals. The goal of the project is to determine how the dopant spatial distribution is modified under the influence of local lattice composition and strain during surface shell passivation and functionalization in core/shell nanocrystals. The team is utilizing local nanocrystal lattices with relatively small cationic size mismatch relative to that of the dopants as an "atomic trap". They initiate fast dopant migration inside nanocrystals under moderate temperatures. Controlled dopant migration for specific dopant locations inside core/shell NCs can fine tune the host-to-dopant coupling, which offers new opportunities to design novel nanomaterials with unprecedented properties for applications in dual-band optical sensors, white light emitters, and solar energy harvesters.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.