In this project funded by the Chemical Structure, Dynamics and Mechanisms Program of the Chemistry Division, Sergey Vyazovkin of the University of Alabama at Birmingham will explore the effect of nanoconfinement on the kinetics and mechanisms of chemical reactions, in which heating of a single solid reactant yields solid products without participation of any gases and/or liquids. The idea is to prepare the solid reactants as micron and nanometer size particles. A comparative study of the reactions in the two types of particles by means of calorimetry and infrared spectroscopy may lead to the discovery of presently unknown effects of nanoconfinement on reactions that proceed entirely in the solid phase.
The broader impacts of the project will involve enhancing chemistry education, advancing research training of undergraduate, graduate, and postdoctoral students, and engaging minority students in scientific research. Potential practical impacts include controlling the reactivity of chemical reactions performed without solvents and developing environmentally friendly technologies for the creation of solid materials.
