NSF Award
2404270
With the support of the Macromolecular, Supramolecular and Nanochemistry program in the Division of Chemistry, Professors Angel A. Martí and Matteo Pasquali of Rice University are developing chemical methods to control the surface functionalities and physical properties in nanotubes made from the chemical elements boron and nitrogen. Boron-nitride nanotubes (BNNTs) are tubular nanoarchitectures, similar in structure to carbon nanotubes (CNT), but with alternating boron and nitrogen atoms instead of carbon. BNNTs have particular properties, such as high thermal conductivity (similar to copper), wide band gap, chemical and thermal stability, and high Young’s modulus (stiffness). As such, BNNTs are highly desirable building blocks with applications in aerospace materials, heat and chemically resistant composites, radiation shielding, and electrical insulators with high thermal conductivity. This research has the potential to advance the knowledge of surface functionalization of chemically inert BNNTs through a systematic covalent modification approach. The research team will promote and recruit underserved students from diverse backgrounds through ongoing collaborations with Puerto Rico Louis Stokes Alliance for Minority Participation (PR-LSAMP), the Chemistry Department at the University of Puerto Rico, Río Piedras and Mayagüez, and the Tapia Center for Excellence and Equity in Education at Rice University. The team will also continue service and outreach through the Research and Leadership Enabling Advanced Discoveries (RLEAD) in Nanosciences REU program, Rice Emerging Scholar Program (RESP), and Chemistry Graduate Education for Minorities program (ChemGem).<br/><br/>The central proposition supporting this research is that covalent bond formation and non-covalent functionalization, such as surfactant wrapping, will tune the chemical and physical characteristics of boron-nitride nanotubes (BNNTs), favoring the emergence of desirable properties and self-organization into supramolecular assemblies. The research goals will be accomplished by pursuing the following objectives: (i) understand and control the reaction of pnictogen oxides with BNNTs and (ii) develop a universal surface functionalization methodology based on BNNT fluorination. Additionally, detailed dispersion studies using cryo-EM and cryo-SEM will be conducted by the Talmon Group in Israel to gain a better understanding of the interactions between surfactants and BNNT and the liquid crystal morphology. The understanding gained through this research has the potential to accelerate the field of nanoscience and nanotechnology, providing chemical and physical tunability to advanced building blocks for assembling materials with unique properties. Furthermore, the synergistic international research collaboration among the Martí and Pasquali laboratories in the U.S. and the Talmon laboratory in Israel will provide a unique research environment with expertise in chemistry, characterization, rheometry, and microscopy, and state-of-the-art characterization facilities at Rice University and the Technion-Israel Institute of Technology. <br/> <br/>This collaborative US/Israel project is supported by the US National Science Foundation and the Israel Binational Science Foundation.<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.
