Professor Alexander Star at the University of Pittsburgh is supported by the Macromolecular, Supramolecular and Nanochemistry Program in the Division of Chemistry to synthesize graphene metal nanoparticle composites and evaluate their properties and potential applications in sensing and catalysis. Graphene (sheets of carbon atoms arranged in a rigid structure that resembles chicken wire) is perforated to form an ordered array of holes. These holes then act as handles to accommodate nanoparticles. The goal behind the synthesis of this nanoparticle construction is that the decoration of holey graphene with select metallic nanoparticle dopants may act to tune the graphene electronic properties to enhance their sensing and catalytic properties. Success in achieving this objective may impact the fields of energy and environmental remediation as the research may open the way for practical applications, such as in water splitting to form hydrogen fuel and carbon dioxide use in useful chemical products. A diverse group of graduate, undergraduate, and high school students are trained as they conduct this research. The concepts of sensors and energy are incorporated in instructional videos and practical demonstrations communicated to the general public.
Professor Star and his research team are working on the synthesis of holey graphene metal nanoparticle composites (GNCs) and the evaluation of their properties and potential applications in sensing and catalysis. The formation of holey graphene is accomplished with oriented covalent organic framework growth as a template followed by reactive ion etching. It is hypothesized that graphene?s band potential can be doped with a versatile range of nanoparticles to match the redox potential of specific analytes. This precise matching may enhance sensing and catalytic behavior. The holey graphene edges-nanoparticles interfaces are manipulated by varying the size and the activity of the holes and the chemical nature of the nanoparticles to tune the graphene work function. The idea is to match the work function to the redox potential of the molecular probes in both gas and aqueous environments to enhance the sensing of these probes and establish a link between sensing and catalytic behavior. Different GNCs are being synthesized and evaluated to facilitate the electrocatalytic splitting of water and to control the electrocatalytic product formation resulting from carbon dioxide reduction. Structural characterization of the composite materials is accomplished using a suite of analytical tools and electrochemical methods.
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.
