Nanoscale Science, Engineering and Technology
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Nanoscale Science, Engineering and Technology Research Directions ABSTRACT This report describes important future research directions in nanoscale science, engineering and technology. It was prepared in connection with an anticipated national research initiative on nanotechnology for the twenty–first century. The research directions described are not expected to be inclusive but illustrate the wide range of research opportunities and challenges that could be undertaken through the national laboratories and their major national scientific user facilities with the support of universities and industry. TABLE OF CONTENTS Basic Energy Sciences Nanoscience/Nanotechnology Group...................................................iii Section Editors..............................................................................................................................iv EXECUTIVE SUMMARY........................................................................................................... v 1. INTRODUCTION ................................................................................................................. 1 2. EMERGENCE OF PROPERTIES AT MULTIPLE LENGTH AND TIME SCALES .............................................................4 3. MANIPULATION AND COUPLING OF PROPERTIES AT THE NANOSCALE ......................................................................................................10 4. CONTROLLED SYNTHESIS AND PROCESSING AT THE NANOSCALE (PRIMARILY ORGANIC)................................................................................................. 23 5. CONTROLLED SYNTHESIS AND PROCESSING AT THE NANOSCALE (PRIMARILY INORGANIC) ............................................................................................ 26 6. NANOSCALE PRECURSORS AND ASSEMBLY FOR MACROSTRUCTURES AND DEVICES............................................................... 35 7. UNDERSTANDING AND MIMICKING BIOLOGICAL FUNCTIONS: “DRAWING INSPIRATION FROM NATURE” ............................................................ 46 8. HYBRID SYSTEMS: INTEGRATING FUNCTIONALITY ........................................52 9. NANOSCALE INSTRUMENTATION.............................................................................57 10. INFRASTRUCTURE AND FACILITIES FOR NANOSCALE SCIENCE AND TECHNOLOGY ..................................................67 APPENDIX: NANOMATERIALS RESEARCH CENTERS................................................ 70 ii Basic Energy Sciences Nanoscience/Nanotechnology Group Chair: Douglas H. Lowndes (ORNL) A. Paul Alivisatos, Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory (LBNL) Mark Alper, Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory (LBNL) Robert S. Averback, University of Illinois–Urbana Champaign (UI–UC) Jacob Barhen, Oak Ridge National Laboratory (ORNL) Jeffrey A. Eastman, Argonne National Laboratory (ANL) Dan Imre, Brookhaven National Laboratory (BNL) Douglas H. Lowndes, Oak Ridge National Laboratory (ORNL) Ian McNulty, Argonne National Laboratory (ANL) Terry A. Michalske, Sandia National Laboratories (SNL) Kai–Ming Ho, Ames Laboratory (AL) Arthur J. Nozik, National Renewable Energy Laboratory (NREL) Thomas P. Russell, University of Massachusetts (UM) Richard A. Valentin, Argonne National Laboratory (ANL) David O. Welch, Brookhaven National Laboratory (BNL) NOTE: Information also was provided by university professors and national laboratory research staff. Contributors are listed on the inside back cover page. iii General Editor D. H. Lowndes (ORNL) Section Editors 1. Introduction: D. H. Lowndes (ORNL) 2. Emergence of Properties: D. O. Welch (BNL) 3. Manipulation and Coupling of Properties: I. McNulty (ANL) 4. Controlled Synthesis and Processing (Organic): A. P. Alivisatos (LBNL) 5. Controlled Synthesis and Processing (Inorganic): R. S. Averback (UI–UC) 6. Nanoscale Precursors and Assembly: A. J. Nozik (NREL) 7. Understanding and Mimicking Biological Functions: M. Alper (LBNL) 8. Hybrid Systems: T. A. Michalske (SNL) 9. Nanoscale Instrumentation: J. A. Eastman (ANL) 10. Infrastructure and Facilities: T. P. Russell (UM) Appendix. Nanomaterials Centers: D. H. Lowndes (ORNL) NOTE: Jacob Barhen (ORNL) edited contributions from the Engineering Research Program. iv EXECUTIVE SUMMARY The principal missions of the Department of Energy (DOE) in Energy, Defense, and Environment will benefit greatly from future developments in nanoscale science, engineering and technology. For example, nanoscale synthesis and assembly methods will result in significant improvements in solar energy conversion; more energy-efficient lighting; stronger, lighter materials that will improve efficiency in transportation; greatly improved chemical and biological sensing; use of low-energy chemical pathways to break down toxic substances for environmental remediation and restoration; and better sensors and controls to increase efficiency in manufacturing. The DOE’s Office of Science has a strong focus on nanoscience discovery, the development of fundamental scientific understanding, and the conversion of these into useful technological solutions. A key challenge in nanoscience is to understand how deliberate tailoring of materials on the nanoscale can lead to novel and enhanced functionalities. The DOE National Laboratories are already making a broad range of contributions in this area. The enhanced properties of nanocrystals for novel catalysts, tailored light emission and propagation, and supercapacitors are being explored, as are hierachical nanocomposite structures for chemical separations, adaptive/responsive behavior and impurity gettering. Nanocrystals and layered structures offer unique opportunities for tailoring the optical, magnetic, electronic, mechanical and chemical properties of materials. The Laboratories are currently synthesizing layered structures for electronics/photonics, novel magnets and surfaces with tailored hardness. This report supplies numerous other examples of new properties and functionalities that can be achieved through nanoscale materials control. These include: • Nanoscale layered materials that can yield a four-fold increase in the performance of permanent magnets • Addition of aluminum oxide nanoparticles that converts aluminum metal into a material with wear resistance equal to that of the best bearing steel • New optical properties achieved by fabricating photonic band gap superlattices to guide and switch optical signals with nearly 100% transmission, in very compact architectures • Layered quantum well structures to produce highly efficient, low-power light sources and photovoltaic cells • Novel optical properties of semiconducting nanocrystals that are used to label and track molecular processes in living cells • Novel chemical properties of nanocrystals that show promise as photocatalysts to speed the breakdown of toxic wastes • Meso-porous inorganic hosts with self-assembled organic monolayers that are used to trap and remove heavy metals from the environment • Meso-porous structures integrated with micromachined components that are used to produce high-sensitivity and highly selective chip-based detectors of chemical warfare agents v These and other nanostructures are already recognized as likely key components of 21st century optical communications, printing, computing, chemical sensing and energy conversion technologies. The DOE is well prepared to make major contributions to developing nanoscale scientific understanding, and ultimately nanotechnology, through its materials characterization, synthesis, in situ diagnostic and computing capabilities. The DOE and its National Laboratories maintain a large array of major national user facilities that are ideally suited to nanoscience discovery and to developing a fundamental understanding of nanoscale processes. Synchrotron and neutron sources provide exquisite energy control of radiation sources that are able to probe structure and properties on length scales ranging from Ångstroms to millimeters. Scanning Probe Microscope (SPM) and Electron Microscopy facilities provide unique capabilities for characterizing nanoscale materials and diagnosing processes. DOE also maintains synthesis and prototype manufacturing centers where fundamental and applied research, technology development and prototype fabrication can be pursued simultaneously. Finally, the large computational facilities at the DOE National Laboratories can be key contributors in nanoscience discovery, modeling and understanding. In order to increase the impact of major DOE facilities on the national nanoscience and technology initiative, it is proposed to establish several new Nanomaterials Research Centers. These Centers are intended to exploit and be associated with existing radiation sources and materials characterization and diagnostic facilities at DOE National Laboratories. Each Center would focus on a different area of nanoscale research, such as materials derived from or inspired by nature; hard and crystalline materials, including the structure of macromolecules; magnetic and soft materials, including polymers and ordered structures in fluids; and nanotechnology integration. The Nanomaterials Research Centers will facilitate interdisciplinary research and provide an environment where students, faculty, industrial researchers and national laboratory staff can work together to rapidly advance nanoscience discovery and its application to nanotechnology. Establishment of these Centers will permit focusing DOE resources on the most important nanoscale science questions and technology needs, and