On the Mechanism and Utility of Laser-Induced Nucleation using Microfluidics

微流控激光诱导成核的机制和实用性

• 批准号: 2103689
• 负责人: Ryan Hartman
• 金额: $ 45.31万
• 依托单位: New York University
• 依托单位国家: 美国
• 项目类别: Standard Grant
• 财政年份: 2021
• 资助国家: 美国
• 起止时间: 2021-09-01 至 2024-08-31
• 项目状态: 已结题
• 来源: https://www.nsf.gov/awardsearch/showAward?AWD_ID=2103689&HistoricalAwards=false
• 关键词: Mechanism; Utility; Laser; Induced; Nucleation

Why does shining a laser on some liquid solutions cause them to crystallize? The reasons for this phenomenon remain a mystery. Elucidating the mechanisms by which light can induce nucleation, the process by which molecules cluster together and organize during the earliest stages of crystallization, is the aim of this proposal. Understanding these mechanisms could result in “greener” industrial processes by which a wide range of materials and chemicals that we use every day, such as dyes and pharmaceuticals, are made, saving energy and reducing the need for large amounts of chemical solvents. In addition to reducing the environmental impact of manufacturing crystalline materials, laser-induced nucleation has the potential to provide better control over crystal shape and the arrangement of molecules in the crystals during the manufacturing process, properties that can be optimized for a specific application of the material. To make greener crystallization part of undergraduate and graduate education, the project would create educational activities that train students from diverse backgrounds to engineer solutions based on this new approach to crystallization, making it an inherent part of basic chemical engineering education.This research program will design and study microfluidic nonphotochemical, laser-induced nucleation (NPLIN) of preselected organic molecules. Molecules that crystallize into different morphologies, into different polymorphs, and that follow single-step versus two-step nucleation will each be examined to understand their light-field induced nucleation mechanisms. The three different mechanisms that will be investigated in this work are i) the optical Kerr effect by which light can align molecules in a disordered solute cluster and thereby induce nucleation, ii) dielectric polarization in which light lowers the energy of slightly sub-critical solute clusters, and iii) the absorption of light by colloidal impurity particles resulting in the formation of nanobubbles that induce nucleation. Doing so will require the design of high-pressure microfluidics coupled with a pulsed, collimated laser beam, and investigations of laser-induced crystallization of ibuprofen, carbamazepine, and glycine crystals. The use of microfluidics will contribute a quantitative experimental methodology for NPLIN that can also distinguish single-step nucleation from two-step nucleation. The research discoveries will set the foundation for translating fundamental findings to practical applications.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.

为什么激光照射在某些液体溶液上会导致它们结晶？解释光诱导成核的机制仍然是一个谜，这是分子在结晶的最初阶段聚集在一起和组织的过程。了解这些机制的目的可以实现“更绿色”的工业流程，通过该流程可以制造我们每天使用的各种材料和化学品，例如染料和药品，从而节省能源并减少对大量的需求。化学的除了减少制造晶体材料对环境的影响外，激光诱导成核还有可能在制造过程中更好地控制晶体形状和晶体中的分子排列，并可针对特定应用优化这些特性。为了使绿色结晶成为本科生和研究生教育的一部分，该项目将开展教育活动，培训来自不同背景的学生基于这种新的结晶方法设计解决方案，使其成为基础化学工程教育的固有组成部分。研究计划将设计和研究预选有机分子的微流体非光化学激光诱导成核 (NPLIN) 会结晶成不同的形态、不同的多晶型物，并且遵循单步与两步成核，将分别进行检查，以了解其光场诱导成核机制。这项工作将研究的三种不同机制是 i) 光学克尔效应，通过该效应光可以排列无序溶质簇中的分子，从而诱导成核， ii) 介电偏振，其中光降低了稍微亚临界溶质簇的能量，以及 iii) 胶体杂质颗粒吸收光，导致形成诱导成核的纳米气泡。这样做需要高压微流体的设计。与脉冲准直激光束相结合，并研究激光诱导布洛芬、卡马西平和甘氨酸晶体的结晶。将为 NPLIN 提供定量实验方法，该方法还可以区分单步成核和两步成核。该研究发现将为将基本发现转化为实际应用奠定基础。该奖项反映了 NSF 的法定使命，并被认为值得支持。通过使用基金会的智力优点和更广泛的影响审查标准进行评估。