RII Track-4:NSF: Unveiling the structure and thermodynamic stability of pre-nucleation clusters and their role in multistep nucleation

RII Track-4：NSF：揭示预成核团簇的结构和热力学稳定性及其在多步成核中的作用

• 批准号: 2132131
• 负责人: John Lee
• 金额: $ 25.7万
• 依托单位: Iowa State University
• 依托单位国家: 美国
• 项目类别: Standard Grant
• 财政年份: 2022
• 资助国家: 美国
• 起止时间: 2022-02-01 至 2025-01-31
• 项目状态: 未结题
• 来源: https://www.nsf.gov/awardsearch/showAward?AWD_ID=2132131&HistoricalAwards=false
• 关键词: RII; Track; NSF; Unveiling; structure

Nucleation influences the subsequent crystallization process which impacts our daily life. However, its mechanism remains poorly understood due to limited characterization. The purpose of the research is to identify what occurs at the early stage of nucleation of salt solutions. The proposed work will overcome the current barriers using innovative experimental apparatus enabled by the fellowship. The results of this project will advance the current knowledge on what occurs in the early stage of nucleation, which will lead to a better understanding of the nucleation mechanism of salt solutions. The fellowship project will result in new multidisciplinary collaborations among Iowa State University, the University of Iowa, Ames Laboratory, and Oak Ridge National Laboratory. One doctoral student will acquire skills in molecular dynamics simulation and gain extensive hands-on experience. Two undergraduate students from the Society of Hispanic Professional Engineers (SHPE) will join the project and present their work at the SHPE National Convention. Three existing outreach programs at Iowa State University will be leveraged to share the fellowship project with K-12 students, teachers, and parents. A growing number of materials, including proteins, electrolyte solutions, biominerals, and colloids, have been observed to nucleate in multistep forming pre-nucleation clusters (PNCs) prior to nucleation. It is apparent that PNCs play a critically important role in multistep nucleation (MSN), yet their nature is poorly understood. The rationale for the proposed research is that a mechanistic understanding of MSN is likely to provide new opportunities to develop a method to control the nucleation and growth of desired crystal phases. For this reason, the project aims to identify the structure, thermodynamic stability, and role of PNCs in an aqueous NaCl solution. The PI team will overcome the current experimental obstacles by integrating the solution electrostatic levitator (SEL) developed by the PI team with neutron scattering at Oak Ridge National Laboratory. The long-term goal of the project is to develop a predictive framework to anticipate and control the MSN in various aqueous solutions. The proposed research will lead to a vertical-step advancement towards elucidating the mechanism of MSN in electrolyte solutions and would give deeper insights to better understand the MSN in other material systems.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.

成核会影响随后影响我们日常生活的结晶过程。然而，由于特征有限，其机制仍然很少理解。该研究的目的是确定盐溶液成核早期阶段发生的情况。拟议的工作将使用奖学金实现的创新实验仪器来克服当前的障碍。该项目的结果将促进当前有关成核早期发生的知识，这将使人们更好地理解盐溶液的成核机制。奖学金项目将在爱荷华州立大学，爱荷华大学，艾姆斯实验室和橡树岭国家实验室之间进行新的多学科合作。一位博士生将获得分子动力学模拟的技能，并获得丰富的动手经验。来自西班牙裔专业工程师协会（SHPE）的两名本科生将加入该项目，并在SHPE全国代表大会上介绍他们的作品。爱荷华州立大学的三个现有外展计划将被利用，与K-12学生，老师和父母分享奖学金项目。在成核之前，已经观察到越来越多的材料，包括蛋白质，电解质溶液，生物矿物质和胶体，以形成核前簇（PNC）的多步形成成核。显然，PNC在多步核（MSN）中起着至关重要的作用，但其性质知之甚少。拟议研究的理由是，对MSN的机理理解可能会提供新的机会来开发一种控制所需晶体相的成核和生长的方法。因此，该项目旨在确定PNC在NaCl水溶液中的结构，热力学稳定性和作用。 PI团队将通过整合由PI团队开发的溶液静电悬浮器（SEL）来克服当前的实验障碍，并在Oak Ridge National Laboratory中具有中子散射。该项目的长期目标是开发一个预测框架，以预测和控制各种水溶液中的MSN。拟议的研究将导致垂直步骤的进步，以阐明电解质解决方案中MSN的机制，并将提供更深入的见解，以更好地了解其他材料系统中的MSN。该奖项反映了NSF的法定任务，并认为通过使用该基金会的知识分子和更广泛的影响来评估Criteria的评估，并被视为值得通过评估的支持。

项目成果

Pre-nucleation Clusters and Complex Nucleation in Soft Matter and the Potential Roles of Space Experiments

软物质中的预成核团簇和复杂成核以及空间实验的潜在作用

• 发表时间: 2022
• 期刊: IJMSA
• 作者: Katamreddy, S.;Cho, Y. C.;Lee, S.;Lee, G. W.;Lee, J.
• 通讯作者: Lee, J.