| NSF Org: |
DMR Division Of Materials Research |
| Recipient: |
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| Initial Amendment Date: | April 11, 2017 |
| Latest Amendment Date: | April 11, 2017 |
| Award Number: | 1709420 |
| Award Instrument: | Standard Grant |
| Program Manager: |
Birgit Schwenzer
bschwenz@nsf.gov (703)292-4771 DMR Division Of Materials Research MPS Directorate for Mathematical and Physical Sciences |
| Start Date: | July 1, 2017 |
| End Date: | December 31, 2020 (Estimated) |
| Total Intended Award Amount: | $450,000.00 |
| Total Awarded Amount to Date: | $450,000.00 |
| Funds Obligated to Date: |
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| History of Investigator: |
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| Recipient Sponsored Research Office: |
926 DALNEY ST NW ATLANTA GA US 30318-6395 (404)894-4819 |
| Sponsor Congressional District: |
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| Primary Place of Performance: |
225 North Avenue Atlanta GA US 30332-0002 |
| Primary Place of
Performance Congressional District: |
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| Unique Entity Identifier (UEI): |
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| Parent UEI: |
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| NSF Program(s): | SOLID STATE & MATERIALS CHEMIS |
| Primary Program Source: |
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| Program Reference Code(s): |
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| Program Element Code(s): |
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| Award Agency Code: | 4900 |
| Fund Agency Code: | 4900 |
| Assistance Listing Number(s): | 47.049 |
ABSTRACT
Nontechnical Abstract:
Nanostructured ferroelectric materials show great potential for future micro- and nano-electronic applications, including wearable medical sensors for human monitoring, non-volatile ferroelectric memory, piezoelectric/electrostrictive actuation, second harmonic generation imaging, energy harvesting and storage, electrocaloric cooling, and liquid crystal displays. Unfortunately, as the dimensions of ferroelectric materials decrease to a few tens of nanometers, their high dielectric property eventually disappears as a result of destabilization of the ferroelectric phase. Therefore, it is highly desirable to develop novel, high dielectric constant ferroelectric nanocrystals with stable ferroelectric phase and nanosized domains. The understanding of polymer defect-induced ferroelectric nanodomains within inorganic nanocrystals paves the way to create many other intriguing ferroelectric nanocrystals. Meanwhile, the research project is integrated with nanoscience education through close interactions among graduate students, undergraduate students, high school science teachers, and high school students in a multilevel learning experience inspired by the excitement of discovery at both Georgia Tech and Case Western Reserve University. The goals are to stimulate the interest of high school students in the area of science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM), and better prepare undergraduate students for the STEM-related professions. To enhance the public awareness of nanoscience and nanotechnology, research findings are widely disseminated to multiple constituencies through publications in scientific journals, presentations at national conferences and workshops.
Technical Abstract:
This proposal aims to understand the effect of organic/inorganic hybridization on the nanoscopic ferroelectric phase and domain structures in polymer-tethered hybrid BaTiO3 nanocrystals, and extend the underlying mechanism to other lead-free relaxor ferroelectric systems to achieve high dielectric constants for various potential electrical applications. First, novel amphiphilic nonlinear block copolymers are rationally designed and synthesized. Subsequently, uniform polymer-tethered hybrid BaTiO3 nanocrystals with precisely tailored dimensions are crafted by employing amphiphilic nonlinear block copolymers as nanoreactors. The nanoscale ferroelectric phase and domain structures in polymer-tethered hybrid BaTiO3 nanocrystals are interrogated using high-resolution transmission electron microscopy, and the mechanism of their relaxor ferroelectric behavior can be unraveled. Finally, the underlying mechanism are extended to create other lead-free relaxor ferroelectric nanocrystals with even higher dielectric constants.
PUBLICATIONS PRODUCED AS A RESULT OF THIS RESEARCH
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PROJECT OUTCOMES REPORT
Disclaimer
This Project Outcomes Report for the General Public is displayed verbatim as submitted by the Principal Investigator (PI) for this award. Any opinions, findings, and conclusions or recommendations expressed in this Report are those of the PI and do not necessarily reflect the views of the National Science Foundation; NSF has not approved or endorsed its content.
The intellectual merit of the proposed research is to develop novel ferroelectric nanocrystals with stable ferroelectric phase and nanosized ferroelectric domains. We achieve this goal from the two aspects. The first is to synthesize various kinds of pristine and doped perovskite nanoparticles by employing rationally-designed, amphiphilic star-like poly(acrylic acid)-block-polystyrene (PAA-b-PS) diblock copolymer with tailorable molecular weights and controlled molecular weight distribution as nanoreactors. Star-like PAA-b-PS diblock copolymers with different numbers of arms (i.e., 8-arms and 21 arms) have been synthesized, and the effect of the number of arms on the crystallinity of the as-synthesized perovskite nanoparticles has been investigated. The effect of organic/inorganic hybridization on the nanoscopic ferroelectric domain structure and ferroelectric properties can be further elucidated, potentially providing more insights into such interaction which may beneficial for future ferroelectric nanocrystal design. Moreover, doped perovskite nanoparticles have been identified as promising electrocatalysts for both oxygen reduction reaction and oxygen evolution reaction. An integrated experimental and DFT calculation study has been conducted for understanding the underlying mechanism that leads to enhanced electrocatalytic performance after doping, which may serve as the guidelines for selecting and creating electrocatalysts. In parallel, ferroelectric (tetragonal) BaTiO3 nanoparticles are identified based on the combustion synthesis, and exhibit a higher dielectric constant than paraelectric (cubic) nanoparticles. Using a polymer nanocomposite approach, the ferroelectric property of individual nanoparticles are unraveled. These high dielectric constant BaTiO3 particles can enhance the local electric field for both photo- and electro-catalysis.
The broader impacts of the proposed work include new material discovery and strong nanoscience education. First, undergraduate students are recruited to participate in the research project. Second, high dielectric constant perovkite nanoparticles have great potential for efficient catalysis and high energy density capacitors. Knowledge generated in this project may lead to development of innovative ferroelectric nanocrystals, which can potentially be exploited for applications in non-volatile ferroelectric memory, photo- and electro-catalysis, energy harvesting and storage, etc., thereby transitioning fundamental scientific discoveries into useful technologies that benefit our society.
Last Modified: 02/15/2021
Modified by: Zhiqun Lin
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