The Macromolecular, Supramolecular and Nanochemistry (MSN) program of the Division of Chemistry will support the research program of Prof. Mostafa El Sayed of Georgia Institute of Technology. Prof. El Sayed's research program focuses on the development of plasmonic nanocatalysts, a new generation of materials at the frontier of the field of chemical catalysis. Prof. El Sayed and his students will examine the effects of two new properties of nanoparticles on the rates of chemical and photo-chemical reactions: 1) the cage effect on the rates of chemical reactions when they occur inside a nano-cage and nano-frame type nanoparticle; 2) the effect of plasmonic fields and other properties of nanogold on the rates of some chemical and photochemical reactions. The project will provide excellent educational opportunity for trainees desiring to work at the forefront of catalysis research.
Catalysis is a $900 billion field and is responsible for the more efficient production of over 90% of consumer materials Nanocatalysis is a rapidly expanding field and could have important impacts on numerous technical fields such as chemical production, sustainable energy, and materials chemistry. The research proposed here has the potential to find new catalysts of industrial importance. Our research was not be limited to nanocatalysis research, but will include introducing a new technique based on femtosecond dynamics to measure the mechanical strength of the nanocages. Our Laser Dynamics Lab is unique within the Atlanta area for its focus on studying the dynamics of nanoparticles and nanoparticle catalysis. We frequently collaborate and help other scientists and engineers who make use of our ability to measure ultrafast dynamics. Also, we often provide different kinds of nanoparticles and information to engineering colleagues. Our lab is very active in educating postdoctoral researchers, graduate students, and undergraduate students in our large group. Weekly seminars are well attended not only by our group members, but also by more than eight undergraduate students registered to do research in nanotechnology in our group as well as 3 first year graduate students in the rotation program (more than half of these nonmember students are females). In addition, we have always attracted and trained 2-3 young undergraduate students in the NNIN and/or REU NSF summer program. Again, half of these students are usually females or minorities. One REU student this past summer, C.J. Daly was African-American and indicated interest in coming to Georgia Tech to join our group. Furthermore, in Atlanta we have many historically black colleges and universities which allow for collaboration with professors and students from underrepresented groups in science. I maintain good relationships with the faculties at these schools and regularly give seminars. I have jointly published with some of the faculty at Atlanta Clark University. Our Laser Dynamics Laboratory is on the Georgia Tech list of laboratories that are open to visiting groups of students and teachers. Groups from high schools around the Atlanta metropolitan area that serve the minority communities frequently come to our laboratory to learn about lasers and nanotechnology. We feel that this outreach is an important part of inspiring the next generation of scientists. During the previous 3 years of the support, we have carried out research work in five different directions: 1) Synthesizing novel hollow nanoparticles including single and double shells as well as semiconductor-metallic hybrid nanoparticles. 2) Studying the nanocatalysis inside the hollow nanocatalysts and elucidation of the cage effect. 3) Studying the relationship between the electrodynamics of the semiconductor-metallic hybrid materials and their photocatalytic activity. 4) Studying the effect of Langmuir-Blodgett monolayer assembling on the optical dynamics of the semiconductor nanoparticles. 5) Controlling the mechanism of the electron transfer redox reaction by the metallic nanoparticles. Below are detail descriptions of our findings in the past support.
