Search for: All records

Production and Characterization of Graphene and Other 2-dimensional Nanomaterials: An AP High School Inquiry Lab (Curriculum Exchange)According to the National Nanotechnology Initiative, nanoscience and nanotechnology areexpected to play key roles in developing solutions to some of our greatest global engineeringchallenges in energy, medicine, security, and scientific discovery. There is high expectation thatdevelopments in nanotechnology will lead to new job creation and become an economic driverwith new direction for research and development coming from nano-enabled products. In light ofthe potential economic and national security implications, it is imperative that we support thedevelopment of the next generation of the high school curriculum as a way to motivate studentstowards pursuing education and careers in nanotechnology. Recent advances in nanomaterialsprocessing, particularly 2-dimensional nanomaterials synthesis, present the opportunity tointegrate nanotechnology curriculum into high schools in safe and relatively inexpensivemanners. The multifunctional characteristics of 2-dimensional nanomaterials make themattractive for printable and flexible electronics, nanostructured thermoelectrics, photovoltaics,batteries, and biological and chemical sensors. Thus, 2-dimensional nanomaterials provide anideal context for high school students to investigate the principles of nanoscience andnanotechnology. In our work, we present an Advanced Placement (AP) Chemistry Inquiry Laboratory (CIL),which is being implemented at Centennial High School in Meridian, Idaho. The CIL is aligned toNational College Board requirements for AP Chemistry courses as well as Next GenerationScience Standards. The laboratory is designed to encompass approximately five hours of time,including teacher preparation time, pre-laboratory activities, materials synthesis andcharacterization, and a field trip to a local industry partner for scanning electron microscopyanalysis of the resultant nanomaterials. Students are organized into small groups under thecontext that they are working to produce and characterize nanomaterials as part of an industryresearch team. To synthesis the 2-dimensional nanomaterials, students use cosolvent exfoliationof layered materials such as graphite, MoS2, WS2, and hBN. The students must then use opticalspectroscopy and electrical characterization techniques to determine if their material is aconductor, semiconductor, or an insulator. The students then use scanning electron microscopyto image the morphology of the 2-dimensional nanoflakes they produced, which exposes thestudents to advanced nanoscale characterization techniques.