CAREER: Fundamental Understanding of Thermal Transport at the Single Molecule Level

职业：对单分子水平热传输的基本了解

• 批准号: 2239004
• 负责人: Longji Cui
• 金额: $ 54.43万
• 依托单位: University of Colorado at Boulder
• 依托单位国家: 美国
• 项目类别: Continuing Grant
• 财政年份: 2023
• 资助国家: 美国
• 起止时间: 2023-03-01 至 2028-02-29
• 项目状态: 未结题
• 来源: https://www.nsf.gov/awardsearch/showAward?AWD_ID=2239004&HistoricalAwards=false
• 关键词: CAREER; Fundamental; Understanding; Thermal; Transport

Understanding and control of matter, energy, and information at the nanoscale is one of major hallmarks of modern engineering and sciences. Atomic and single-molecule devices represent the miniaturization limit of any physical machine, and have great potential to create unprecedented functionalities that overcome the performance barriers set by classical physical laws. Directly probing heat transport at the molecular scale will elucidate the fundamental thermal transport mechanisms and dissipation limits in these ultraminiaturized devices, but has remained as a great technological challenge. The principal aim of this project is to fill the knowledge gap in the understanding of thermal transport at the single molecule level. The outcomes of this project can potentially transform the current technologies of energy efficient nanoelectronics and photonics, as well as enable rational bottom-up design methods of high performance thermal and renewable energy materials. This project also focuses on training and diversifying the pool of young generations of nano-engineers and thermal scientists through an integrated education and outreach program that promotes the engagement of K-12 and undergraduate students, particularly those from underrepresented groups, in cutting-edge lab research, workshops, and hands-on learning.The goal of this project is to establish a comprehensive research framework for the fundamental study of heat conduction and energy conversion mechanisms in single molecules. This research will enable systematic tests to address long-standing open questions in molecular thermal transport, which although having a long research history starting from the 1950s, remain at a qualitative level due to the lack of experimental benchmarking data. This project leverages a recently developed scanning thermal microscope with ultrahigh sensitivity that allows the discovery of new thermal effects and promotes creative design of organic molecules from a thermal perspective. Experimental studies will be performed in a series of molecular systems with specific aims to reveal the structure-property relationships in thermal transport of single organic monomers and polymers, and to quantify quantum effects and the figure of merit of thermoelectric molecules. This research is expected to yield deep understanding in molecular phononics and quantum thermoelectrics, and profoundly impact the field of heat management, molecular electronics, and the material design of thermally-enhanced polymers.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.

对纳米级的物质，能量和信息的了解和控制是现代工程和科学的主要标志之一。原子和单分子设备代表任何物理机器的微型化限制，并且具有创造前所未有的功能的巨大潜力，以克服经典物理定律设定的性能障碍。在分子尺度上直接探测热传输将阐明这些超急诊设备中的基本热传输机制和耗散限制，但仍然是一个巨大的技术挑战。该项目的主要目的是填补对单分子水平热传输的了解的知识差距。该项目的结果可能会改变能源有效的纳米电子和光子学的当前技术，并实现高性能热和可再生能源材料的合理自下而上设计方法。该项目还着重于培训和多样化纳米工程师和热科学家的年轻一代，通过综合教育和宣传计划促进K-12和本科生的参与，尤其是那些来自代表性不足的团体，从事的范围不足的研究，以建立综合研究框架的范围，以进行综合的研究框架，以建立综合的研究。分子。这项研究将使系统的测试能够解决分子热传输中长期存在的开放问题，尽管从1950年代开始，研究史就长期存在，但由于缺乏实验性基准测试数据，但仍处于定性水平。该项目利用最近开发的扫描热显微镜具有超高灵敏度，可以发现新的热效应，并从热角度促进有机分子的创造性设计。实验研究将在一系列具有特定目的的分子系统中进行，旨在揭示单个有机单体和聚合物的热传输中的结构特性关系，并量化量子效应以及热电分子的功绩图。预计这项研究将对分子语音和量子热电学产生深刻的了解，并深刻影响热管理领域，分子电子产品以及热增强聚合物的材料设计。该奖项反映了NSF的法定任务，并通过使用该基金会的知识优点和广泛影响来评估NSF的法定任务。