**Research Activity: Materials Chemistry** **and Biomolecular
Materials**

Division: Materials Sciences and Engineering

Primary Contacts: Richard D. Kelley (<Richard.Kelley@science.doe.gov>;
301-903-6051)

Aravinda M. Kini
([Aravinda.Kini@science.doe.gov](mailto:Richard.Kelley@science.doe.gov);
301-903-3565)

Team Leader: William T. Oosterhuis

Division Director: Harriet Kung

**Portfolio Description:**

This activity supports basic, exploratory research on the design,
synthesis, characterization, and properties of novel materials and
structures. The general focus is on the chemical aspects of complex and
collective phenomena that give rise to advanced materials. The portfolio
emphasizes solid-state chemistry, surface and interfacial chemistry, and
materials that underpin many energy-related areas such as fuel cells and
batteries, catalysis, energy conversion and storage, friction and
lubrication, light-weight and high-strength materials, membranes,
luminescent materials, and materials aspects of environmental chemistry.
It includes investigation of novel materials such as self-assembled
structures, cluster and nanocrystal-based materials, quasicrystals,
polymers, macromolecular assemblies and solids, superconductors, organic
electronic and magnetic materials, porous materials, complex fluids,
hybrid and composite materials and biomolecular materials. There is an
increased emphasis on the synthesis of new materials with nanoscale
structural control and taking advantage of unique material properties
that originate at the nanoscale. Significant research opportunities also
exist at the biology/materials science interface since the world of
biology offers time-tested strategies and models for the design and
synthesis of new materials -- composites and molecular assemblies with
unique properties and specifically designed functions. The program also
supports the development of new experimental tools and techniques such
as high-resolution magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) outside the magnet,
x-ray and neutron reflectometry, time-resolved electron diffraction,
optical and scanning probe microscopies for dynamic imaging, and surface
force apparatus in combination with various spectroscopies.

**Distinguishing Features:**

To a large measure, the projects supported in this portfolio have a
substantial emphasis on fundamental science and a significant
"chemistry" component, which is invariably, coupled with physical and/or
biological science components. Since new materials open up new
possibilities and usher in new opportunities in energy-related
technologies, there is considerable interest in the "discovery" of new
materials, systems and properties. A sizeable portion of the scientific
thrusts pursued in this portfolio are multi-investigator and
multi-disciplinary in nature.

Investigators supported in this program are world leaders in solid state
NMR and MRI, neutron reflectivity of soft matter, organic magnets,
organic conductors and superconductors, biomolecular materials, polymer
interfaces, nanoscience, organic-inorganic composite materials, basic
science of tribology, and advanced inorganic materials including
quasicrystals.

Several investigators in this program are pioneers of novel
instrumentation/techniques such as high resolution MRI outside the
magnet (Pines/LBNL), neutron reflectometers (Felcher/ANL and Russell/U.
Mass), combinatorial materials chemistry for new materials discovery
(Schultz/Scripps Research Institute), the surface force apparatus
(Israelachvili/UC Santa Barbara and Steve Granick/UIUC), and
spin-polarized metastable helium scattering (El-Batanouny/Boston
University). The program has sought to identify and support high-risk,
high-impact and often ground-breaking research, and will continue to do
so.

**Relationship to Others:**

The Materials Chemistry program is a vital component of the materials
sciences that interfaces chemistry, physics, biology, and engineering.
This interfacing results in very active relationships.

-   Within BES, there are jointly funded programs in the National Labs
    and Universities (about 10 currently), joint program reviews, joint
    contractor meetings and programmatic workshops.

-   Within DOE, there is coordination through the Energy Materials
    Coordinating Committee (EMaCC) which involves representatives of SC,
    NNSA, FE, EM, NEST and EE&RE.

-   Programs PI's are collocated and occasionally co-funded by EE&RE
    (batteries and fuel cells, green chemistry, solar energy conversion,
    hydrogen storage), FE (catalysis and advanced materials research),
    and NNSA-DP (nanoscience research).

-   Within the federal agencies, the program coordinates through the
    Federal Interagency Chemistry Representatives (FICR) which meets
    annually; the Interagency Power Working Group, which meets annually
    to coordinate all federal electrochemical technology (e.g., battery
    and fuel cell R&D) activity; the Interagency Polymer Working Group;
    and the NanoScience, Engineering, and Technology committee (NSET),
    which was initially formed to formulate the National Nanotechnology
    Initiative (NNI) and is currently a sub-committee of the National
    Science and Technology Council. This last committee meets monthly to
    coordinate the NNI.

-   Very active interactions with NSF and NIH through joint workshops
    and joint funding of select activities as appropriate (two currently
    active).

-   Industrial interactions: 15 active CRADAs at four DOE laboratories.

**Significant Accomplishments:**

This program is responsible for pioneering the combinatorial materials
chemistry approach for the discovery of new materials (Schultz, 1995).
It is also responsible for the discovery of the first organic magnet
(Miller and Epstein, 1986), the highest-*T*~c~ organic superconductor
(Williams et al. 1990), the first all-organic superconductor (Williams
et al. 1996) and the first room temperature organic magnet (Miller and
Epstein, 1991). The latter discovery created a new field of research,
which has grown substantially since then, and has transformed organic
magnets from a scientific curiosity to a thriving scientific activity,
and is expected to have a huge impact on spintronics-based technologies.
Recently, the first material that simultaneously exhibits bistability in
three physical channels -- electronic, magnetic and optical -- was
discovered (Haddon, 2002). A new approach involving the use of ordered
intermetallic materials as fuel cell electrodes has been developed and
it offers great promise for finding a non-platinum, direct fuel cell
that uses organic liquids (methanol, ethanol etc.) as fuel (DiSalvo and
Arbuna, 2003). A biomolecular route found in Nature has been harnessed
to produce photovoltaic and semiconductor nanocrystals at low
temperature and under environmentally benign conditions (Morse, 2003). A
truly remarkable recent achievement is the generation of a bacterium
with a 21amino acid genetic code, which can eventually lead to our
ability to generate proteins with entirely new or enhanced biological
functions (Schultz, 2003). It will also be possible to extend this
technology beyond proteins to prepare the long sought after monodisperse
versions of industrial polymers such as polyesters and polyimides.

The program also pioneered the development of several cutting-edge
techniques for probing materials, e.g., neutron reflectivity for the
study of interfaces, buried interfaces, and interfacial phenomena in
magnetic materials, polymers, colloids, biomaterials, and other complex,
multicomponent materials. Every neutron scattering facility in the world
now has neutron reflectometers, which are in great demand. The program
pioneered and developed the use of laser polarized xenon to
significantly enhance NMR spectra and MRI images, which has
revolutionized medical diagnostics technology. *Ex-situ* NMR or NMR
without magnets is another technique developed in this program, which is
expected to have an enormous impact on imaging in materials science,
biology and medicine, and airport screening (humans and baggage)
technologies.

**Mission Relevance:**

Materials Chemistry and Biomolecular Materials program provides support
for fundamental research in surface and interfacial chemistry,
nanoscience, polymeric and organic materials, solid state chemistry, and
development of new tools and techniques to advance the field of
materials sciences. Research in these areas is at the forefront of the
synthesis, assembly, and understanding of materials. The research in
this portfolio underpins many energy-related technological areas such as
batteries and fuel cells, catalysis, energy conversion and storage,
friction and lubrication, light-weight and high-strength materials,
membranes, luminescent materials, and materials aspects of environmental
chemistry.

**Scientific Challenges:**

The major challenge in this core research activity is identifying and
supporting the research focused on synthesis and discovery of new
materials with novel properties that can lead to entirely new
energy-related technologies. Developing experimental strategies for the
"atom-by-atom" synthesis of materials with unprecedented nanoscale (and
sub-nanoscale) structural control is clearly an outstanding challenge.
In this context, a detailed understanding of hierarchical and dynamic
self-assembly processes ubiquitous in Nature can be an extremely
valuable guide. Such a knowledge base can lead to low-temperature,
energy-efficient synthesis routes to new materials and new manufacturing
processes.

Another major challenge is the development of new experimental
techniques and tools for the detection, analysis and manipulation of
materials, their structures and their properties.

**Funding Summary:**

**Dollars in Thousands**

**[FY 2003]{.underline}** **[FY]{.underline}** **[2004]{.underline}**
**[FY 2005 request]{.underline}**

40,563 42,000 44,437

*.*

**[Performers]{.underline}** **[Funding Percentage]{.underline}**

> DOE Laboratories 71%
>
> Universities 27%
>
> Other 2%

These are percentages of the operating research expenditures in this
area; they do not contain laboratory capital equipment, infrastructure,
or other non-operating components. Performers in FY2003 included 46 DOE
Laboratory projects and 52 university grants. The 'Other' category
includes a grant to a small company (Mission Support, Inc., in Utah) to
develop new solid-state detectors for neutron scattering research and
two projects supported jointly with the Division of Materials Research,
NSF.

**Projected Evolution:**

In addition to maintaining a healthy core research activity, the program
will further expand into nanoscience research, particularly at the
nano-bio interface. It will seek to develop new multi-disciplinary
approaches, with biology, chemistry, physics and computational science
playing major roles, to model, design and synthesize new and novel
materials. Some of the targeted areas that will receive support in the
coming years include novel materials and innovative concepts that will
impact solid state lighting, hydrogen production and storage, novel
electrodes and membranes for improving the efficiency of fuel cells, and
theory and modeling to aid new materials discovery. Also of particular
interest is the development of new organic electronic materials with
novel magnetic, conducting and optical properties. With the advent of
advanced x-ray synchrotron and neutron facilities within the DOE
complex, which are expected to provide new insights into the physics of
advanced materials, e.g., superconductors, GMR and CMR materials,
optical materials etc. there is a great demand for high-quality single
crystals (and other forms) of such materials. Accordingly, there will be
a new emphasis on single crystal growth of advanced materials, which
will lead to better characterization, and consequently, better
understanding of their properties. The program will also seek to
facilitate multi-investigator, multi-disciplinary team research, to
bring appropriate talents to bear on increasingly more complex and
multi-functional materials. The program has sought to identify and
support high-risk, high-impact and often ground-breaking research, and
will continue to do so.