EAGER: CET: Functionalized Graphene for Sustainable Rare Earth Metal Separation

EAGER：CET：用于可持续稀土金属分离的功能化石墨烯

• 批准号: 2337221
• 负责人: Robin Macaluso
• 金额: $ 30万
• 依托单位: University of Texas at Arlington
• 依托单位国家: 美国
• 项目类别: Standard Grant
• 财政年份: 2023
• 资助国家: 美国
• 起止时间: 2023-09-01 至 2025-08-31
• 项目状态: 未结题
• 来源: https://www.nsf.gov/awardsearch/showAward?AWD_ID=2337221&HistoricalAwards=false
• 关键词: EAGER; CET; Functionalized; Graphene; Sustainable

1 NON-TECHNICAL SUMMARYRare-earth (RE) metals are critical components to past, present and future technologies and industries. RE metals are pervasive in society and pivotal in the growth and development of clean energy, defense, and even information technology applications, including electric vehicles, wind turbines, or communication devices (smartphones, satellites). As of today, only a handful countries around the world control the supply for these critical resources. Furthermore, current RE separation processes are environmentally damaging and highly energy intensive. It is therefore crucial and urgent to secure US leadership and autonomy in RE supply in a sustainable manner. With this Clean Energy Technology (CET) EAGER award, supported by the Solid State and Materials Chemistry program in NSF’s Division of Materials Research, researchers at the University of Texas Arlington address these challenges through fundamental investigations to create new materials to extract and separate RE metals using nanomaterials, including graphene. They prepare novel, versatile graphene-organic ligand hybrid materials to sustainably separate RE metals, thereby diversifying the RE supply chain and meeting national and global demands for RE. The multidisciplinary team comprises chemists and materials scientists that work in synergy to effectively advance the field of RE metal separation. The project also trains undergraduate and graduate students to contribute to the development of a future STEM workforce.2 TECHNICAL SUMMARYRare Earth (RE) elements (Sc, Y, Lanthanides) are critical components in emerging technologies ranging from wind turbines and electric vehicle motors to defense applications. However, current industrial mining and separation processes rely on decades-old technologies that do not meet today’s standards in terms of efficiency and sustainability, and therefore, cannot sustain the growing global demand for RE elements. With this Clean Energy Technology (CET) EAGER award, supported by the Solid State and Materials Chemistry program in NSF’s Division of Materials Research, researchers at the University of Texas Arlington leverage the chemical reactivity and mechanical strength of graphene with the separation capabilities of organic ligands (e.g. Diglycolamides) to design innovative hybrid nanomaterials that effectively extract RE metals through environmentally sustainable processes. The researchers’ synergistic activities combine theoretical modeling efforts with synthetic chemistry and analytical characterization techniques to functionalize various forms of graphene, creating hybrid materials that selectively separate RE metals. Moreover, this project contributes to developing a scientific workforce through the education and training. Undergraduate and graduate students, as well as postdoctoral researchers, learn to tackle complex technological challenges preparing them for their future careers in STEM. Ultimately, this project will deliver fundamental chemical insights and engineering applications for novel RE metal separation to promote US autonomy for these critical resources.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.

1 非技术摘要稀土 (RE) 金属是过去、现在和未来技术和行业的关键组成部分，稀土金属在社会中普遍存在，对于清洁能源、国防甚至信息技术应用（包括）的增长和发展至关重要。电动汽车、风力涡轮机或通信设备（智能手机、卫星）截至目前，世界上只有少数国家控制着这些关键资源的供应。此外，当前的稀土分离过程对环境和能源造成破坏。因此，通过国家科学基金会材料研究部固态和材料化学项目的支持，以可持续的方式确保美国在可再生能源供应方面的领导地位和自主权至关重要。德克萨斯大学阿灵顿分校的研究人员通过基础研究来解决这些挑战，以创造新材料来使用纳米材料（包括石墨烯）提取和分离稀土金属，他们制备了新型、多功能的石墨烯-有机配体杂化材料来可持续地分离稀土金属，从而实现稀土金属的分离。实现稀土供应链多元化，满足国内和全球对稀土的需求 该多学科团队由化学家和材料科学家组成，他们协同工作，有效推进稀土金属分离领域的发展。该项目还培训本科生和研究生，为稀土金属分离的发展做出贡献。未来的 STEM 劳动力。2 技术摘要稀土 (RE) 元素（Sc、Y、镧系元素）是从风力涡轮机、电动汽车电机到国防分离应用等新兴技术的关键组成部分。几十年前的技术在效率和可持续性方面不符合当今的标准，因此无法满足全球对稀土元素不断增长的需求，获得由固态和材料化学项目支持的清洁能源技术 (CET) EAGER 奖。在 NSF 材料研究部，德克萨斯大学阿灵顿分校的研究人员利用石墨烯的化学反应性和机械强度以及有机配体（例如二甘醇酰胺）的分离能力来设计创新的混合纳米材料，可有效提取稀土研究人员的协同活动将理论建模工作与合成化学和分析表征技术相结合，使各种形式的石墨烯功能化，创造出选择性分离稀土金属的混合材料。本科生和研究生以及博士后研究人员学习如何应对复杂的技术挑战，为他们未来在 STEM 领域的职业生涯做好准备，最终，该项目将为新型稀土金属分离提供基本的化学见解和工程应用，以促进美国的发展。这些关键的自主权该奖项反映了 NSF 的法定使命，并通过使用基金会的智力价值和更广泛的影响审查标准进行评估，被认为值得支持。