Enabling the Preparation of Advanced Materials through Analysis and Control of the Interfacial Chemistries of Nanoscale Materials

纳米材料正被广泛应用于各种领域。利用这些材料潜力的一个关键组成部分是能够控制和可靠地调节它们的表面和界面化学。提出了一系列的分析研究，将促进我们对纳米材料表面化学修饰的理解和控制。将开发新的方法，以增加可用于这些表面改性的化学物质的多样性。除了提高该领域的知识和我们对纳米材料表面进行均匀和可重复的改性的能力外，这项研究还将指导一些具有重要经济意义的技术的发展。*将有可能使用多种化学物质来改性硅氧化物的表面。纳米材料通常被包覆硅氧化物以提高其稳定性，但这些氧化物也需要进一步的化学修饰。我们将创建简单的方法来调整硅氧化物的表面化学，以抵御或促进各种特定的分子相互作用(例如，结合分子靶标、螯合金属离子和防止其他化学相互作用)。这些表面化学可以扩展到硅氧化物以外的材料，以及用于层析和生物医学设备的改性薄膜。这项研究将开发可扩展的、具有潜在商业可行性的方法。*利用纳米材料作为更好的电催化剂或更灵敏的电化学传感器的基础是我们确认和改进我们对这些系统的理论理解的能力。我们的研究将建立一个实验模型，通过这个模型，我们可以改进这种纳米材料的组成、空间分布和表面化学。我们将进行彻底的分析，以更好地了解如何提高这些材料的化学选择性、活性和稳定性。这一认识将有助于开发具有成本效益的低温燃料电池催化剂和传感器，提高灵敏度和选择性，用于便携式医疗诊断，以检测溶解的化学物质。*纳米材料的独特性质也将被利用来创造一种新的化学转化手段，无论是用于改变这些材料的表面化学反应，还是引发更大规模的反应。我们将研究光热产生的热和/或自由基，以促进新的反应，以及扩大我们对光热引发的化学过程的知识。这一知识还将用于促进在环境条件下基本上不反应的化学反应。*总而言之，这些进展将丰富我们对纳米材料表面和界面化学的知识，这是充分利用这些材料的经济潜力所必需的。**

Nanoscale materials are being pursued widely for a variety of applications. A critical component of harnessing the potential of these materials is the ability to controllably and reliably tune their surface and interfacial chemistries. A series of analytical studies are proposed that will advance our understanding and control of chemical modifications to the surfaces of nanoscale materials. New methods will be developed that increase the diversity of chemistries available for these surface modifications. In addition to advancing the knowledge of the field and our ability to uniformly and reproducibly modify surfaces of nanomaterials, this research will guide the development of a number of economically important technologies.****A diverse array of chemistries will be enabled for modifying the surfaces of silicon oxides. Nanomaterials are commonly coated with silicon oxides to improve their stability, but these oxides also require further chemical modification. We will create simple methods to tune the surface chemistries of silicon oxides to withstand or facilitate a variety of specific molecular interactions (e.g., binding molecular targets, chelating metal ions, and preventing other chemical interactions). These surface chemistries could be extended to materials other than silicon oxides, as well as to modifying thin films used in chromatography and biomedical devices. This research will develop scalable and potentially commercially viable methods. ****Fundamental to utilizing nanostructured materials as better electrocatalysts or more sensitive electrochemical sensors is our ability to confirm and improve our theoretical understanding of these systems. Our studies will build an experimental model through which we can refine composition, spatial distribution, and surface chemistry of such nanomaterials. We will perform a thorough analysis to better understand how to improve the chemical selectivity, activity, and stability of these materials. This understanding will facilitate development of cost effective low temperature fuel cell catalysts and sensors with increased sensitivity and selectivity for use in portable medical diagnostics for detecting dissolved chemical species. ****The unique properties of nanomaterials will also be harnessed to create a new means of chemical transformations, whether for modifying the surface chemistry of these materials or triggering larger-scale reactions. We will investigate photothermal generated heat and/or radicals to facilitate new reactions, as well as to expand our knowledge of photothermal triggered chemical processes. This knowledge will also be used to promote chemical reactions that are largely unreactive under ambient conditions. ****In summary, these advances will enrich our knowledge of the surface and interface chemistry of nanoscale materials that is needed to utilize these materials to their fullest economic potential.**