2018 — 2021 |
Genzer, Jan (co-PI) [⬀] Abolhasani, Milad Mason, Dawn |
N/AActivity Code Description: No activity code was retrieved: click on the grant title for more information |
Goali: Manufacturing Usa: Elastomeric Microparticle-Packed Bed Reactor For Continuous Metal-Mediated Pseudo-Homogeneous Catalysis @ North Carolina State University
A team of researchers from North Carolina State University and Eastman Chemical Company will design and fabricate catalytic microparticles for applications in energy-efficient synthesis of fine chemicals, natural products, and pharmaceuticals using environmentally friendly solvents. The microparticles will act as polymer microreactors with an embedded metal catalyst center. A highly flexible elastomeric microparticle-packed bed reactor will be designed that can simultaneously exhibit the benefits of both homogeneous and heterogeneous catalysis. The research efforts will focus on uncovering design principles that will facilitate the development of highly efficient modular microreaction vessels with high synthetic flexibility.
The efficiency of metal-mediated chemical transformations depends critically on the chemical structure of the reacting species and the reaction environment. The proposed catalytic system is based on crosslinking poly(hydromethyl siloxane)s with functionalized dienes and embedding palladium (Pd) catalysts in such spherical elastomeric scaffolds. A novel catalytic reactor system will be developed that is modular and highly tunable. These attributes are achieved by varying the chemistry of the crosslinker, degree of crosslinking, type, loading, and accessibility of the Pd catalyst, and chemical microenvironment surrounding the Pd catalyst. The elastomeric microparticles will be loaded with Pd nanocatalysts and provide a controlled reaction environment. The Pd catalyst will be ligand-free and thus very reactive; it resides firmly inside a very flexible elastomeric microparticle, which makes the Pd catalyst center mobile locally while simultaneously protecting the microreaction vessel from the outside environment. Chemical adjustability in conjunction with mechanical and structural flexibility, deformability, and swellability in various solvents are key attributes that can make the proposed catalytic system efficient, robust, and scalable for the continuous organic synthesis of fine chemicals and pharmaceuticals. In addition to the scientific and technological impact of the proposed research, the project will be used to train one graduate and two undergraduate students. The research team plans to pursue outreach activities through the Science House program at North Carolina State University aimed at attracting local K-12 students to pursue careers in STEM fields. There is also a plan to recruit women and members of underrepresented groups in STEM fields to participate in the proposed research and outreach programs.
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.
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2019 — 2022 |
Abolhasani, Milad |
N/AActivity Code Description: No activity code was retrieved: click on the grant title for more information |
Collaborative Research: Continuous Manufacturing of Hetero-Nanostructures Enabled by Colloidal Atomic Layer Deposition @ North Carolina State University
Cadmium selenide nanoplatelets are attractive materials for next generation, energy efficient displays and solid-state lighting devices. The synthesis of high-quality nanoplatelets is a multi-step process that is difficult to study and scale up using conventional approaches. This award supports collaborative research to develop a continuous manufacturing strategy that consistently produces highly efficient nanoplatelets. The projected strategy utilizes a layer-by-layer growth process that enables cost-effective synthesis of the high-performance nanomaterials. The project contributes to fundamental knowledge of the nanoplatelet growth process, the requirements of flow synthesis methods, and determine nanoplatelet structure through photoluminescence-performance relationships. If successful, the research could reduce the energy consumption of displays and solid-state lighting devices produced by mid to large-scale U.S. companies, and thereby benefit the nation's prosperity, health, and security. This collaborative research project involves integration of several fields including colloidal synthesis, reaction and chemical engineering, and materials science. This grant trains graduate and undergraduate students in the continuous manufacture of advanced materials. Additionally, the multi-disciplinary nature of this project facilitates participation of women and underrepresented groups in research and greatly impacts engineering education through hands-on experiments for undergraduate students. Furthermore, the YouTube is used to disseminate the acquired advanced manufacturing knowledge to a broader audience.
The continuous flow manufacturing process based on the colloidal atomic layer deposition (ALD) technique for synthesis of high-quality nanoplatelets is highly modular and versatile. Continuous flow manufacturing has the potential to overcome the current limitations of the batch scale production of emissive nanomaterials. However, some key scientific questions need to be thoroughly explored to realize the continuous manufacturing of semiconductor nanoplatelets using the colloidal ALD process. This research project develops the fundamental knowledge required for each step of the layer-by-layer growth process for nanomaterial synthesis. The continuous flow synthesis process is capable of synthesizing and purifying colloidal nanoplatelet heterostructures using a linear sequence of multiple reactor modules. The nanoplatelets manufactured in continuous flow are composed of a graded alloy emissive layer and several passivating shell layers engineered for solid-state lighting and micro-display applications. Continuous flow reactor design, a library of novel synthesis precursors, and in-line liquid-liquid phase separation technique enable unprecedented process intensification in advanced manufacturing of colloidal nanoplatelets. The novel continuous manufacturing process utilizing intensified flow reactors paves the way for in-flow manufacturing of other colloidal nanocrystals.
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.
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2020 — 2021 |
Dickey, Elizabeth [⬀] Ghiladi, Reza (co-PI) [⬀] Abolhasani, Milad Amassian, Aram (co-PI) [⬀] Scholle, Frank (co-PI) [⬀] |
N/AActivity Code Description: No activity code was retrieved: click on the grant title for more information |
Rapid: Defect-Chemistry Design of Titanium Dioxide For Enhanced Virucidal Photodynamic Properties @ North Carolina State University
NON-TECHNICAL DESCRIPTION: The goal of this research project is to develop synthesis and processing routes to optimize the efficacy of titania-based nanoparticles for inactivating SARS-CoV-2 surrogate coronaviruses. The chemistry and stoichiometry of titania particles are tuned through a novel flow-synthesis processing route and subsequent thermal annealing to make the material photoactive in the visible-light range of the electromagnetic spectrum. Such light activation leads to the production of reactive oxygen species, which are believed to be central to the antiviral activity of such oxide materials. Being able to control and optimize the antiviral activity of materials such as titania, which can easily be coated onto surfaces or integrated into fibers, can have direct and immediate impact on the production of antimicrobial coatings and personal protective equipment (PPE). As such, the research results are proactively directed towards groups researching and developing PPE materials for the COVID-19 pandemic. The graduate students involved in the research are team-mentored in a highly interdisciplinary and societally relevant research activity that spans materials research, photochemistry, virology, and materials manufacturing.
TECHNICAL DETAILS: This research program aims to develop the fundamental science linking the chemistry of titanium dioxide, or titania, to its antiviral properties. The research is motivated by the urgent need to develop coatings and personal protective equipment (PPE) that can inactivate the COVID-19 virus. In this research, precise synthesis of titania nanoparticles is achieved via a micro-scale flow synthesis platform with in situ diagnostics. The high-throughput experimental platform enables the research team to study systematically the important variables of particle size, phase, and doping concentrations on the light absorption and photodynamic properties of titania. An important variable in the study is oxygen stoichiometry, which is systematically controlled through low-partial-pressure oxygen annealing. The reduction reaction induces oxygen vacancies into the titania lattice, which, in turn, lower the optical band gap of the material. The consequences for reactive oxygen species generation, which are critical for antiviral efficacy, have not, however, previously been established. Therefore, this research measures the effects of nanoparticle stoichiometry on the generation of individual reactive oxygen species: superoxide, singlet oxygen, hydrogen peroxide and hydroxyl radicals under visible light illumination. Finally, the efficacy for inactivating SARS-CoV-2 surrogate coronaviruses is assessed, allowing for the development of full synthesis-structure-property-function relationships for this important antimicrobial photodynamic material. Moreover, the research translates the knowledge and processing conditions of the most efficacious materials to groups producing antiviral materials for the COVID-19 crisis. The participating graduate students are involved in all aspects of this highly interdisciplinary research activity, which provides them unique experience in the material design process, while contributing to practical solutions for the containment of the COVID-19 virus.
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.
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2023 — 2025 |
Abolhasani, Milad |
N/AActivity Code Description: No activity code was retrieved: click on the grant title for more information |
Collaborative Research: Data-Driven Microreaction Engineering by Autonomous Robotic Experimentation in Flow @ North Carolina State University
Existing experimental strategies often fail to comprehensively explore the reaction universe of new chemicals and materials created with multi-step synthesis procedures. Given the resource-limited nature of experimental searches to find the best reactants and reaction conditions for a certain chemical product, the resulting ad-hoc or uninformed selection of experiments will likely fail to uncover valuable reaction process insights. This collaborative research project will create a science and engineering knowledge framework for accelerated mechanistic reaction studies and synthesis process development of emerging materials and molecules with multi-stage chemistries through a modular approach to chemical synthesis guided by a multi-stage artificial intelligence (AI) strategy. The research team will produce a new data-driven scientific approach to accelerate design and synthesis of high-performing materials and molecules, reducing development time from years to months. Potential applications include energy and chemical technologies, resulting in clear benefits to the nation's prosperity, health, and security. This interdisciplinary research project involves integration of multiple fields including reaction engineering, materials science, and AI. This project will train graduate and undergraduate students in data-driven microreaction engineering and AI-assisted experimentation. The interdisciplinary nature of this collaborative project will enhance participation of students from groups traditionally underrepresented in STEM-related research. Furthermore, the results of this project will positively impact modern engineering education through hands-on lab modules for undergraduate students and tutorial YouTube videos, free to the public and based on the knowledge generated by this research.<br/><br/>Implementation of data-driven reaction engineering concepts for emerging solution-processed materials and molecules with multi-stage chemistries require fundamental advancements of AI-guided reaction space exploration, surrogate modeling, and modular experimentation. This project seeks to develop the science base and understanding of modular AI modeling and decision-making strategies for data-driven microreaction engineering through closed-loop modular experimentation. This will enable time- and resource-efficient navigation through the multivariate chemical synthesis space of emerging solution-processed materials and molecules with multi-stage chemistries. The modular AI modeling effort will result in new algorithms that incorporate problem-specific structure and decision-making modalities, enabling autonomous experimentation to move past proof-of-concept demonstrations. Specifically, data-driven microreaction engineering of colloidal quantum dots (QDs) will be targeted, a choice driven by the intriguing size- and composition-tunable optical and optoelectronic properties of QDs as well as multi-stage and process-sensitive synthesis. The results of this collaborative project will advance the state-of-the-art AI-guided chemical synthesis, while lowering the barrier to the use of AI techniques, enabling their broad application among other scientific domains. Furthermore, the modular surrogate modeling of the multi-stage flow reactor systems can be used for evaluation, testing, and validation of kinetics and mechanistic models of nanocrystal nucleation and growth. The autonomous and modular flow synthesis strategy will result in a transferable computational framework that can be applied to other problems in chemical science and engineering, including the models that capture multi-stage, multi-objective process optimization, a problem ubiquitous throughout experimental sciences.<br/><br/>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.
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