Opto/electronic studies and applications of nano-engineered 2-dimensional materials

各种各样的纳米结构可以用化学方法合成，并且可以很好地控制尺寸、形状和化学成分。申请人研究计划的长期目标是使用纳米结构作为构建块来设计具有奇异量子“相关”电子行为的材料；ie。电子在受限空间（原子d轨道）中运动，这导致电子相互躲避。这种运动是许多被广泛研究的量子现象的核心，例如高温超导。在上一个资助周期中，申请人的小组通过使用金纳米颗粒和有机分子连接剂的无序薄膜首次展示了一种称为近藤效应的强相关现象，证明了这确实是可能的。该小组还首次开发了一种制造所谓二维交联纳米颗粒超晶格的新方法：高度有序、致密的金纳米颗粒+分子连接物薄膜，其面积宏观，厚度为1纳米颗粒。目前提出的一个项目是研究这些新材料的电学和光学性质，包括那些将有机金属分子交联剂与d轨道结合在一起的材料。第二个提议的项目是利用电化学来改变可用d轨道的密度。在上一个资助周期中，申请人的小组还首次开发了一种基于溶液的方法，以低成本制造大量的MoS2单层，其光致发光比以往任何时候都强。目前提案的第三个项目是使用这些新的纳米结构作为下一代设备的构建模块，如太阳能电池和光电探测器。表现出强烈相关电子运动的纳米工程材料有可能提高我们对一系列被广泛研究的奇异量子电子现象的理解。这将是一个戏剧性的科学成果。它还会带来技术成就。在上一个融资周期中，开发的专有技术改进了用于测试水的商用电导率仪。在下一个资助周期中，申请人的小组将探索用于检测特定分子（如使用表面等离子体共振的生物分子）和指纹分子（使用拉曼光谱）的改进传感器的材料。另一个重要的成果是，这项研究已经并将继续提供优秀的跨学科培训。学生（包括本科生）的成就包括发表论文，参加会议展示他们的工作，建立教学实验室，获奖，推出产品以及快速找到应用他们培训的工作。

A wide variety of nanostructures can be chemically synthesized with great control over size, shape and chemical composition. A long term goal of the applicant's research program has been to use nanostructures as building-blocks to fashion materials that exhibit exotic quantum "correlated" electronic behavior; ie. electrons move through confined spaces (atomic d-orbitals) which cause electrons to avoid each other. Such motion lies at the heart of a variety of widely studied quantum phenomena, such as high temperature superconductivity for example. In the last funding cycle, the applicant's group demonstrated that this is indeed possible by demonstrating for the first time a strongly correlated phenomena called a Kondo effect using disordered films of gold nanoparticles and organic molecular linkers. The group also developed a new method for fabricating, for the first time, so-called 2-d cross-linked nanoparticle superlattices: highly ordered, dense films of gold nanoparticles + molecular linker that are macroscopic in area and one nanoparticle thick. One currently proposed project is to study the electrical and optical properties of these new materials, including those that incorporate organometallic molecular cross-linkers with d-orbitals for charges to traverse. A second proposed project is use electrochemistry to change the density of available d-orbitals. In the last funding cycle, the applicant's group also developed, for the first time, a solution-based method for inexpensively fabricating large quantities of monolayers of MoS2 that photoluminesce more strongly than ever before. A third project of the current proposal is to use these new nanostructures as building-blocks for next generation devices such as solar cells and photodetectors. Nanoengineering materials that exhibit strongly correlated electronic motion has a potential to improve our understanding of a range of intensely studied exotic quantum electronic phenomena. This would be a dramatic scientific outcome indeed. It also leads to technical achievements. In the last funding cycle, know-how developed led to improved commercially available conductivity meters for testing water. In the next funding cycle, the applicant's group will explore the materials developed for improved sensors for detecting specific molecules (such as biomolecules using surface plasmon resonance) and fingerprinting molecules (using Raman spectroscopy). Another important outcome is that this research has and will continue to provide excellent, interdisciplinary training. Student (including undergrad) achievements include publishing papers, attending conferences to present their work, developing a teaching lab, awards, launching a product and quickly finding jobs applying their training.