CAREER: Tuning Perovskite Nanocrystals with Transition Metal to Enable Selective Photocatalytic Organic Synthesis

该奖项的全部或部分资金来自《2021年美国救援计划法案》(公法117-2)。在化学系化学催化项目的支持下，圣地亚哥州立大学的严勇正在研究太阳能电池材料作为催化剂，利用太阳能生产有价值的有机化学品。自然界以化学键的形式有效地储存太阳能，通过光合作用形成复杂的有机化合物。这个自然过程的关键是一个催化系统，它在捕捉光线和促进感兴趣的化学转化方面都是有效的。以贵重化学品的形式有效捕获和储存可再生太阳能的合成催化剂仍然是一个重大挑战。该项目将专注于被称为金属卤化物钙钛矿的材料，这是目前可用的最有效和最经济的太阳能电池材料。该项目将仔细研究钙钛矿材料的优点，以模拟自然光合作用的方式，促进有效的光捕获和选择性的化学转化。严博士将参与外展项目，鼓励经济困难和代表性不足的本科生在能源、环境和化学等跨学科领域攻读研究生课程。在圣地亚哥州立大学，严博士还计划将钙钛矿太阳能电池材料合成纳入本科化学课程，目的是培养早期学生对可再生和可持续能源的兴趣。在化学系化学催化项目的支持下，圣地亚哥州立大学的严勇将研究金属卤化物钙钛矿(即APbBr3，其中A=Cs，甲基铵等)的范围和限制。作为太阳能驱动的光催化剂，用于高度选择性的有机转化。钙钛矿的光诱导电荷分离和电荷转移效率在现代光伏中也应该有利于它们在光催化中的应用。本文研究的新设计的钙钛矿体系可以很容易地通过A位交换与过渡金属离子进行调谐，从而在钙钛矿表面产生活跃的过渡金属位。当然，几十年的研究表明，过渡金属催化在高选择性化学键的形成中发挥着显著的作用。本研究试图将广泛应用的过渡金属催化与钙钛矿光催化相结合，开发独特的纳米复合催化体系，并有望在高选择性催化有机合成中开辟令人兴奋的新领域。作为该项目的一部分，高中生实习生将被教授合成一些钙钛矿纳米晶，圣地亚哥州立大学无机化学课程的本科生将被指导合成可调钙钛矿光催化剂，提供宝贵的实践机会，接触最先进的太阳能收集材料。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。

This award is funded in whole or in part under the American Rescue Plan Act of 2021 (Public Law 117-2).With the support of the Chemical Catalysis program in the Division of Chemistry, Yong Yan of San Diego State University is investigating solar cell materials as catalysts that use solar energy to produce valuable organic chemicals. Nature efficiently stores solar energy in the form of chemical bonds, leading to formation of complex organic compounds via photosynthesis. Key to this natural process is a catalytic system that is efficient both in capturing light and in promoting chemical transformations of interest. Synthetic catalysts that efficiently capture and store renewable solar energy in the form of valuable chemicals remains a significant challenge. This project will focus on materials known as metal halide perovskites, which are the most efficient and economical solar cell materials currently available. The project will examine closely the merits of perovskite materials to facilitate both efficient light capture and selective chemical transformations in a manner that mimics natural photosynthesis. Dr. Yan will engage in outreach programs to eoncourage financially-challenged and under-represented undergraduate students to pursue graduate studies in the interdisciplinary fields of energy, environment and ehemistry. At San Diego State University, Dr. Yan also plans to incorporate perovskite solar cell materials synthesis into the undergraduate chemistry program, with the aim of cultivating early-stage student interest in renewable and sustainable energy.With the support of the Chemical Catalysis program in the Division of Chemistry, Yong Yan of San Diego State University will study the scope and limitations of metal halide perovskites (i.e. APbBr3 where A = Cs, methylammonium etc.) to serve as solar energy-powered photocatalysts for highly selective organic transformations. The light-induced charge-separation and charge-transfer efficiency of perovskites seen in modern photovoltaics, should also benefit their use in photocatalysis. The newly designed perovskite system being investigated here is readily tunable with transition metal ions via A-site exchange, leading to active transition metal sites on the perovskite surface. Of course, decades of research show that transition metal catalysis plays a remarkable role in highly selective chemical bond formation. The research being undertaken here seeks to merge widely applicable transition metal catalysis with perovskite photocatalysis to develop unique combined nanocrystalline catalytic systems and potentially open exciting new realms in highly selective catalytic organic synthesis. High school student interns will be taught to synthesize some of the perovskite nanocrystals and undergraduate students enrolled in an inorganic chemistry course at San Diego State University will be guided in the synthesis of tunable perovskite photocatalysts providing valuable hands-on exposure to state-of-the-art solar energy-harvesting materials as part of this project.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.