MRSEC: Center for Nanoscale Science

非技术摘要：宾夕法尼亚州立大学材料科学与工程中心（MRSEC）-纳米科学中心追求新的材料平台，渴望提供未来的材料。这些平台的发展需要跨学科的中心规模的努力，一个促进创新和发现在新兴的研究领域引人注目的机会不断扩大的漩涡。这个MRSEC的跨学科研究小组（IRG）二维极性金属和异质结构研究了由原子级薄碳片-石墨烯-覆盖的金属薄片，这可以保护金属免受生锈。这些结构提供了一种突破性的方式来形成材料的组合，这些材料的单个量子特性可以结合在一起，从而使新材料能够用于量子计算以及新的传感器技术。IRG高熵晶体氧化物还开创了材料发现的新前沿，在这种情况下，晶体材料由多种化学元素组成。从这种巨大的成分多样性中，可以设计出具有在能源或国防应用中有价值的属性的材料，例如透明金属或能够承受极端环境的材料。该中心的多方面教育计划引入了研究实践和成果的可持续性的核心专业发展主题，扩大了教育产品，增加了残疾人获得STEM的机会，并进一步深化和扩大了两个研究和材料教育合作伙伴关系（PREM）通过无处不在的指导。此外，宾夕法尼亚州立大学MRSEC各级研究人员之间的知识转移和行业价值的领导力和团队建设技能的灌输扩大了全国范围内的影响。技术摘要：IRG 1研究的空气稳定二维金属在下面共价键合，在上面非键合：这种对称性破缺激活了新电子、自旋电子学和光学现象，例如强非线性光学、超低背景拉曼增强以及对极性和拓扑超导性至关重要的自旋相关能带结构的类型;这些变革性质有望在生物传感、量子异质结构和非线性超颖表面中产生影响。IRG 2旨在定义晶体化学原理，指导高配置熵景观中的数据信息材料设计，其中晶体环境的丰富多样性定义了一个“熵库”，材料可以从中“提取”以实现突破性的特性，否则不可能;这些独特的功能预计在离子传导，透明导体，电热材料和相关氧化物中的广泛影响。关键设备的购置扩大了专业工具的使用范围，而对所有职业阶段的创新和创业的系统支持则扩大了基础科学创新的影响，所有这些都得到了有针对性的国际研究联系的支持。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影响审查标准进行评估，被认为值得支持。

Nontechnical abstract:The Penn State Materials Science and Engineering Center (MRSEC) - Center for Nanoscale Science pursues new materials platforms, aspiring to deliver the materials of the future. Advancement of these platforms requires a cross-disciplinary Center-scale effort, one that fosters a widening gyre of innovation and discovery in emerging research areas of compelling opportunity. This MRSEC’s interdisciplinary research group (IRG) Two-Dimensional Polar Metals and Heterostructures studies ultrathin sheets of metals covered by an atomically thin sheet of carbon – graphene – which protects the metal from rusting. These structures provide a ground-breaking way to form combinations of materials whose individual quantum properties may come together to enable new materials for quantum computing as well as new sensor technologies. The IRG Crystalline Oxides with High Entropy also pioneers a new frontier of materials discovery, in this case crystalline materials composed of a multitude of chemical elements. Out of this huge compositional diversity it is possible to design materials with attributes that are valuable in energy or defense applications, such as transparent metals or materials capable of withstanding extreme environments. The Center’s multifaceted educational program introduces a core professional development theme of Sustainability in research practice and outcomes, expands educational offerings that increase access to STEM for disabled populations, and further deepens and expands two Partnerships for Research and Education in Materials (PREM) through pervasive mentoring. In addition, knowledge transfer and the instilling of industry-valued leadership and team-building skills amongst Penn State MRSEC researchers at all levels amplify impact nationwide.Technical abstract:The air-stable two-dimensional metals studied by IRG1 are bonded covalently below and non-bonded above: such symmetry breaking activates novel electronic, spintronic, and optical phenomena such as strongly nonlinear optics, ultralow-background Raman enhancement, and the types of spin-dependent bandstructures critical to polar and topological superconductivity; these transformative properties promise impacts in biosensing, quantum heterostructures, and nonlinear metasurfaces. IRG2 seeks to define the crystal chemistry principles that guide data-informed material design in a high-configurational-entropy landscape, in which the rich diversity of crystal environments defines an “entropy bank” from which a material can make “withdrawals” to achieve ground-breaking properties not otherwise possible; these unique features anticipate broad impacts in ion conduction, transparent conductors, electrocaloric materials, and correlated oxides. Key equipment acquisitions expand access to specialized tools while systematic support for innovation and entrepreneurship across all career stages amplifies the impact of fundamental science innovation, all supported by targeted international research connections.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.