A group of multi-institutional researchers led by Indiana University scientists Sara Skrabalak received $1.8 million from the National Science Foundation to create a research center (Indiana University leads NSF-funded research center) focused on changing the detection and structure of nanocrystals.
Nanocrystals are aggregates of atoms that enable innovation in all areas of the economy. They are used in catalytic converters, sunscreens, self-cleaning and even medicine.
The new Center (Indiana University leads NSF-funded research center) for Single-Entity Nanochemistry and Nanocrystal Design is part of NSF’s Center for Chemical Innovation program, which provides funding to focus on the challenges of long-term chemical research. This project will also provide UI chemistry students with research experience in the field of nanomaterials.
“The NSF Center for Chemical Innovation provides the best research teams in the country,” said Steven Tait, professor and chair of the Department of Chemistry at IU Bloomington’s College of Arts and Sciences. “This new facility builds on the excellence of the materials chemistry program that has been established at IU Bloomington over the past 15 years. We are pleased with this well-deserved recognition by Prof. Skrabalak, Prof. Ye and their colleagues. provides training for students and scientists at IU and leads to exciting research that advances science and technology.
In addition to Skrabalak, the research team includes Xingchen Ye from IU, Lane Baker and Xin Yan from Texas A&M University, Graeme Henkelman from the University of Texas at Austin, and Katherine Willets from Temple University. Together, they will develop new technologies to quickly identify and use the unique properties of different nanocrystals in different applications, such as disease treatment and sustainable energy platforms.
Nanocrystals are so small that they are measured in nanometers or three billionths of a meter. But Skrabalak says that despite their size, they have a lot of potential.
“Nanocrystals are the driver of innovation because they exhibit properties that are different in their size – or bulk – nature,” Skrabalak said. “For example, we all know the bright yellow of gold bricks, but gold nanocrystals can appear almost any color, depending on their size and shape. New properties of nanocrystals and opportunities of creating these objects in their size and shape opens up many possibilities.
However, the diversity of nanocrystals in the sample makes the detection process difficult – requiring researchers to analyze each nanocrystal in the sample individually.
“Ideally, this challenge is similar to drug discovery and development, where there is a large experimental opportunity from which to identify positive targets,” Skrabalak said. “In the past few decades, the drug discovery process has changed from automated analysis to the detection of large numbers of drugs, which has made the time needed to find a cure.”
Based on the similarities, Skrabalak said that he and his colleagues will apply drug discovery techniques to single nanocrystal research to create a scientific and chemical toolbox to transform the discovery of promising nanocrystals with unique properties inside, applications in many researches.
“Overall, our center aims to change the way the chemical community thinks about the diversity of nanocrystal samples, viewing diversity as a valuable asset to discover rather than a liability,” Skrabalak said.
The group organized a kick-off meeting this month to bring together all the student researchers involved in the project. The construction of new tools and methods to study promising nanocrystals has already begun.
