CAREER: Assembly of Nanoparticles: Size, Shape, Spatial, and Sensory Properties

The Analytical and Surface Chemistry Program in the Division of Chemistry makes this Career award to the State University of New York at Binghamton to study nanoparticle-structured materials and their sensing applications. With this award, Professor Chuan-Jian Zhong will investigate mediator-template pathways as a general strategy for assembling nanoparticles. Factors that control the size, shape, and interparticle spatial properties of assembled units will be assessed, and applications of the materials in chemical sensing will be explored. Initial focus will be on thioether mediators and tetraalkylammonium templates for the assembly of metal, alloy and oxide nanoparticles. The project will examine a variety of mediator and template systems by manipulating functional groups and chain lengths. The PI will also develop new course modules centered on nanoscale-chemistry for integration into the undergraduate and graduate curriculum and provide summer research opportunities to local high school teachers and students. Strategies based on mediator-template chemistry will be developed for assembling nanoparticles into different shapes (e.g., spherical, cylindrical, cubic, hexagonal, etc.) and sizes. Factors essential to controlling the separation distances between nanoparticles and the dimensions of assembled units on scales ranging from several nanometers to a few micrometers will be identified. The materials will be employed for use in gas and microfluidic sensing devices. The research and education plan will train teachers and provide hands-on experiences for students at the high school, undergraduate and graduate levels that develop cutting-edge technological skills.