Structure-Property Relationship in Graphene Nanoparticle Compounds

匹兹堡大学的Alexander Star教授得到了化学系大分子、超分子和纳米化学项目的支持，合成了石墨烯金属纳米颗粒复合材料，并评估了它们的性能和在传感和催化方面的潜在应用。石墨烯（碳原子片排列成类似铁丝网的刚性结构）被穿孔形成有序的孔阵列。这些孔就像把手一样容纳纳米颗粒。这种纳米颗粒结构的合成背后的目标是，用选择的金属纳米颗粒掺杂剂装饰多孔石墨烯，可以调节石墨烯的电子特性，以增强其传感和催化性能。实现这一目标的成功可能会影响能源和环境补救领域，因为这项研究可能为实际应用开辟道路，例如在水分解形成氢燃料和在有用的化学产品中使用二氧化碳。在进行这项研究时，一个由研究生、本科生和高中生组成的不同群体接受了培训。传感器和能源的概念被纳入教学录像和实际演示，传达给公众。Star教授和他的研究小组正在研究多孔石墨烯金属纳米颗粒复合材料（GNCs）的合成，并评估其性能和在传感和催化方面的潜在应用。多孔石墨烯的形成是通过定向共价有机框架生长作为模板，然后进行反应离子蚀刻。据推测，石墨烯的能带电位可以掺杂多种纳米颗粒，以匹配特定分析物的氧化还原电位。这种精确的匹配可以增强传感和催化行为。通过改变孔的大小和活性以及纳米颗粒的化学性质来调节石墨烯的功函数，可以操纵多孔石墨烯边缘-纳米颗粒界面。我们的想法是将功函数与分子探针在气体和水环境中的氧化还原电位相匹配，以增强这些探针的传感能力，并在传感和催化行为之间建立联系。为了促进水的电催化裂解和控制二氧化碳还原产生的电催化产物的形成，人们正在合成和评价不同的GNCs。复合材料的结构表征是通过一套分析工具和电化学方法完成的。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。

Professor Alexander Star at the University of Pittsburgh is supported by the Macromolecular, Supramolecular and Nanochemistry Program in the Division of Chemistry to synthesize graphene metal nanoparticle composites and evaluate their properties and potential applications in sensing and catalysis. Graphene (sheets of carbon atoms arranged in a rigid structure that resembles chicken wire) is perforated to form an ordered array of holes. These holes then act as handles to accommodate nanoparticles. The goal behind the synthesis of this nanoparticle construction is that the decoration of holey graphene with select metallic nanoparticle dopants may act to tune the graphene electronic properties to enhance their sensing and catalytic properties. Success in achieving this objective may impact the fields of energy and environmental remediation as the research may open the way for practical applications, such as in water splitting to form hydrogen fuel and carbon dioxide use in useful chemical products. A diverse group of graduate, undergraduate, and high school students are trained as they conduct this research. The concepts of sensors and energy are incorporated in instructional videos and practical demonstrations communicated to the general public. Professor Star and his research team are working on the synthesis of holey graphene metal nanoparticle composites (GNCs) and the evaluation of their properties and potential applications in sensing and catalysis. The formation of holey graphene is accomplished with oriented covalent organic framework growth as a template followed by reactive ion etching. It is hypothesized that graphene’s band potential can be doped with a versatile range of nanoparticles to match the redox potential of specific analytes. This precise matching may enhance sensing and catalytic behavior. The holey graphene edges-nanoparticles interfaces are manipulated by varying the size and the activity of the holes and the chemical nature of the nanoparticles to tune the graphene work function. The idea is to match the work function to the redox potential of the molecular probes in both gas and aqueous environments to enhance the sensing of these probes and establish a link between sensing and catalytic behavior. Different GNCs are being synthesized and evaluated to facilitate the electrocatalytic splitting of water and to control the electrocatalytic product formation resulting from carbon dioxide reduction. Structural characterization of the composite materials is accomplished using a suite of analytical tools and electrochemical methods.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.