Ozin教授是一位著名的納米化學家,也是Wiely旗下Advanced Science News (ASN)的一名長期專欄作者。他在裸金屬原子團簇、沸石封裝催化、納米馬達、光子晶體的最初合成、太空微重力環境結晶、納米硅綠色化學、太陽能燃料等領域均有里程碑意義的發現。在他77歲生日之際，Ozin教授接受了ASN的采訪并向大家介紹他多彩的學術職業生涯，目前的研究項目，和未來的計劃。 本文翻譯了采訪的部分要點，而對于學術性較強的內容則附上Ozin教授英文原文，留給讀者自己仔細品評。
問：在您學術生涯初期，您是一位材料化學家。請問您是如何開始涉獵“納米化學”方向？
When you first started out, you were working as a materials chemist. How did you get involved in “nanochemistry”?
我其實是偶然進入納米化學方向。當時的工作內容是圍繞著這個領域的基礎研究，之后這個領域才被大家稱為納米化學。
納米化學：在消逝維度下的材料合成，Ozin教授在1992年發表于 Advanced Materials的一篇里程碑佳作
由Thomas Graham (1805-1869) 開創的膠體化學在發展了近百年后，在70年代早期逐漸演變成為如今的納米化學，與此同時，由Wolfgang Ostwald (1883-1943)掀起的膠體科學也開始演變成如今的納米科學。Thomas Graham描述了物質在納米到微米大小范圍內的獨特行為，而Wolfgang Ostwald 在他的著作“The World of Neglected Dimensions” (1914)中豐富了這一主題。當時我還是多倫多大學化學系的助理教授， 他們的工作啟發我使用自下而上的化學方法來解決納米維度下材料的自組裝這一挑戰。
但是，作為一名合成化學家，我面臨一個重要且還未被解決的難題是：如何使用化學方法來制備尺寸在納米級別（1-100 nm）的金屬，半導體和絕緣體？我研究了這些材料在尺寸上的可調諧行為，并闡明其結構、性能、功能之間的關系并確定其應用方向。在低溫下用裸露的金屬原子進行化學反應啟發了我通過在允許納米團簇于固體基質中自擴散組裝的方式，來實現在原子級別控制金屬錳納米團簇的結晶和生長過程。這個具有科學意義的壯舉以前從未被實現過。通過這一方式， 我觀察到了金屬原子的成核和生長反應，并首次監測和量化了它們的聚集動力學。此外，我確認了當有不同小分子配體存在下的裸露金屬原子或少量金屬原子組成的納米簇中，我們可以觀察到當時未知的新型MnLm化合物。
問：列舉一個在你職業生涯的初期你最喜歡的項目
What is one of your favorite early-career projects?
裸金屬原子團簇化學奠定納米化學基礎。
One of my favorite early initiatives, undertaken while I worked as a Fairchild Fellow at Caltech in 1977 with William Goddard, was an experimental and theoretical study of Nin(C2H4)m. This described for the first time the chemistry of “naked” nickel atoms and nickel clusters with ethylene, envisioning them as a localized bonding model for ethylene chemisorbed on bulk nickel. The ingenuity behind these 1970’s experiments, and expanded upon in my later papers, unveiled an unprecedented view of controlled size metal nanoclusters, the synthesis of which enabled the first explorations of the transition from molecular to quantum confined to bulk forms of metals. They also provided a unique platform for investigating cluster-surface relations. It is worth mentioning that I later enriched this work with the discovery of a collection of unprecedented metal atom and metal cluster photo-processes. These processes included naked metal atom photo-aggregation, naked metal cluster photo-dissociation and naked metal cluster photo-isomerization reactions as well as naked metal atom photo-insertion reactions into the carbon-hydrogen bonds of saturated hydrocarbons, such as methane.
Together, these early experiments on the chemistry and photochemistry of naked metal atoms and naked metal clusters, laid the groundwork for the development of the field of nanochemistry. The instrumentation to perform this kind of metal-atom-metal-vapor chemistry was manufactured and commercialized by a spin-off from my group, www.torrovap.com that was founded in 1981 and is still in business.
問：在奠定了裸金屬原子金屬團簇化學的基礎之后，您的研究方向是如何發展的？
Where did your research take you after laying down this foundational groundwork in naked metal atom metal cluster chemistry?
沸石材料科學的先驅性工作。
My desire to take the insights gained from the nanochemistry work on naked metal atom and naked metal cluster cryochemistry “out of the cold” provided the link between my early work and the field of zeolite science. I envisioned making and stabilizing these tiny pieces of matter so that detailed studies of their structure, property, function, utility and relations could be undertaken. In this context, it occurred that because these Mn and MnLm nanoclusters were inherently metastable with respect to further agglomeration to thermodynamically stable bulk materials, they had to be stabilized by some kind of surface protecting sheath. I performed the nucleation and growth reactions within the nanometer-sized voids of zeolites, thereby “capping and trapping” the nanoclusters in a zeolite ligand cage, confirming that zeolites could serve as nanoporous hosts for synthesizing and stabilizing metal and semiconductor nanomaterials.
During this period, thinking within the zeolite community focused solely on the properties and applications of zeolites in catalysis and gas separation. I, however, preferred to look at zeolites as solids filled with nanoscale voids and wondered how they could perform and compete in the advanced materials research space. I saw their potential in areas such as information storage, photovoltaics, batteries, fuel cells, photocatalyts, chemical sensors and drug delivery systems. Exploring this potential, I worked with Edith Flanigen at Union Carbide, Tarrytown, New York for five years to bring some of these ideas to practical fruition, ultimately describing my vision for the future direction of the field in the paper “Advanced Zeolite Materials Science”.
Coincidentally, around this time the Union Carbide team made the extraordinary discovery that nanoporous materials could be made from elements across the periodic table, thus expanding the composition field of zeolites way beyond aluminosilicates and silicates, inspiring me to focus attention on advanced materials applications of nanoporous metal chalcogenides, which I envisioned as self-assembled semiconductors filled with nanometer holes with perceived utility in molecular size- and shape-discriminating sensing devices enabling the development of an early “electronic nose”. To improve their crystalline perfection, I took self-assembly of these nanoporous semiconductor materials into space to see the effect of gravity on the nucleation and growth process.
問：在太空中發生了什么？
What happened in space?
太空微重力環境下的晶體生長。
This was a highlight of my early career, scientifically exhilarating and technologically demanding. The project was a collaboration between the Canadian Space Agency and the National Aeronautical Space Agency, structured around earth and space-based research. The former was conducted in my research group at the University of Toronto, the latter performed robotically in a get-away-special on May 19, 1996 NASA space shuttle Endeavor, STS 77. This mission is credited as the maiden flight geared towards microgravity research and the commercialization of space. Coincidentally, one of the shuttles crew was mission specialist Canadian Marc Garneau, who became a member of the Canadian parliament in 2008. The goal of the project was to study the effect of microgravity on the crystallization of layered microporous tin(IV) sulphides. This material was selected because its crystal structure is determined by weak inter-layer and strong intra-layer covalent bonds and its self-assembly was expected to be very sensitive to the nucleation and growth conditions. The outcome of five years of inspiring research was the discovery that in the absence of sedimentation and convection gravity driven disturbances of crystal growth under microgravity conditions, we observed improved overall crystal quality, exemplified by more well-defined morphologies with smoother facets, enhanced crystallinity, optical quality and void volume, compared to the crystals produced on Earth.
問：這如何導致了納米化學的誕生？
How did this lead to the birth of nanochemistry?
1992年的展望工作，將納米技術與化學概念真正結合。
In hindsight, my ensuing research laid out the essence of a chemical approach to nanomaterials — a futuristic field that I called “nanochemistry”. This paper set the scene for a nanomaterials revolution that continues unabated today. I envisioned the novel world of nanochemistry with its 0D dots, 1D wires, 2D layers, and 3D open frames, with configurations that surprised, and shape- and size-dependent behaviors that startled. Here were the conceptual foundations, the description of a bottom-up paradigm for synthesizing nanoscale materials with nanometer-level command over their size, shape, surface, and self-assembly. The potential I saw was breathtaking. It would be possible to produce nanoscale materials — perfect down to the last atom — from organic and inorganic components with structure-property relations designed to yield new materials characterized by an array of novel behaviors and these materials would have real-world applications.
The field of nanochemistry crystallized in 1992 and gave birth to journals that publish nanochemistry with citation impact-factors matching or exceeding the flagship journal in their respective society and include: Small, Nano Letters, ACS Nano, Nature Nanotechnology, Nanoscale and the list continues to grow. Chemistry and nanotechnology were forever united, as evidenced by the astronomical growth of Nano Chemistry ISI citations since 1992, more than 360 million hits on Google, and the creation of numerous global initiatives in academic, industry, government, and defense institutions around research and education in nanochemistry. These initiatives would not likely have been possible without that foundational work carried out in the seventies, which subsequently inspired others to employ fundamental scientific principles and practices of nanochemistry to solve challenging real world problems in nanotechnology.
問：你認為你學術研究里的一個標志性工作是什么？
What would you say is one of the hallmarks of your research?
光子晶體等輕量化材料的前驅性發展。
The creative exploitation of the unique properties of regular arrangements of nanopores with dimensions that traverse nanometers to microns. For example, my research on periodic macroporous materials, which I aptly calls “light-scale” materials, a focus has been electrically, thermally, mechanically, and chemically tuned “colour from structure”. This revolutionary concept forms the basis of a new “photonic color” nanotechnology being developed by Opalux who are introducing three unique manifestations of this nanotechnology to the market.
P-Ink is a flexible, electronic paper-like material offering a full spectrum of electrically-tunable, reflective colours. Being bi-stable and power-efficient, it is one of three competitive technologies vying to add colour to black-and-white electronic book readers such as Kindle and Kobo. P-Nose is an artificial nose comprised of a simple, cost-effective pixilated array of surface-functionalized nanoporous materials that enable discrimination of different analytes, such as molecules comprising the unique identifiers of different bacteria. Think of the possibilities for medical diagnostics, and food and water quality-control! Elast-Ink is a touch-sensitive material that responds to mechanical pressure while offering exceptional resolution and customizability. It is poised to answer global demand for effective authentication-technology, serving, for example, the pharmaceutical and banknote-printing industries.
It is worth pointing out that the P-Ink photonic colour technology developed by Oplaux was recognized by the Technical Development Materials Award in the USA in 2011, which identifies the most innovative and significant technical achievement in the field of materials development. Opalux follows in the footsteps of many previous illustrious industry winners of this award in the US, Europe and Asia. In 2013, Opalux P-Ink Photonic Technology received the Global Innovation Award for its potential impact on the specialty colour displays industrial sector. Opalux Opal-Print Technology was runner-up in the 2013 Excellence in Tax Stamps Awards for best new innovation in anti-counterfeiting, anti-diversion, document security, brand protection and holography technologies. They have won many awards since then in recognition of their achievement of taking photonic color from the laboratory to the market place.
問：您覺得您的職業生涯中最科幻或者最有趣的發現是什么？
What do you feel is the most sci-fi or intriguing discoveries made during your career?
我是最早展示化學反應驅動 “納米運動”的幾位科學家之一。
I was among the first few scientists to demonstrate chemically-powered “nanolocomotion”. My work was based on chemical control of the motion of barcode nanorod motors, whose power is obtained from the decomposition of hydrogen peroxide into water and oxygen localized at the catalytic segment of the nanorod. The first experiments were aimed at nanorod rotors and motors and understanding the origin and control of their motion and speed. Subsequently I was the first to show how to make them flexible by integrating polymer hinges between the segments of the nanorod. These seminal papers inspired a veritable nanomotor industry. Activity in this field is now burgeoning around the world with envisioned nanomachine applications that include the removal of pollutants from water and as drug-carrying and delivery vehicles for targeted cancer therapy. In another burst of innovation, I discovered ultrathin inorganic nanowires which are characterized by unprecedented small < 2 nm diameters. These amazingly thin nanowires look, grow and behave like organic polymers. This work inspired a flurry of activity around the globe to explore the composition space and structure, properties, and functionality of these uniquely-thin one-dimensional constructs. This work raises an important question about how to expand and enrich the myriad applications enjoyed by organic polymers into the completely uncharted territory of ultrathin inorganic nanowires. The opportunities appear to be boundless!
問：您現在的研究興趣是什么？
What do your current research interests look like?
納米硅綠色化學，太陽能燃料。
Lately, I developed a passion for a greener kind of nanochemistry and figured out how to separate poly-dispersions of quantum-confined silicon nanocrystals into mono-dispersed colloidally-stable fractions with tailored organic surfaces. Incredibly, for the archetype semiconductor silicon, this feat was the first of its kind since the discovery of silicon nanocrystals more than thirty years ago. The brightly coloured visible to near infrared photoluminescence of these size-separated silicon nanocrystals enabled determination of their size-dependent absolute quantum yields. These photoluminescence quantum yields were found to be surprisingly high and as a result are targeted for a range of “green” nanotechnologies that include multicolour light-emitting diodes and biomedical diagnostics, therapeutics and imaging for detecting and targeting tumors. I believe green nanochemistry founded on benign nanocrystalline silicon will help alleviate the fear of cytotoxicity that currently pervades the use of heavy metal chalcogenide and pnictide nanomaterials currently favored for advanced materials and biomedical nanotechnologies. Recently I discovered the hydride capped versions of silicon nanocrystals are efficacious photocatalysts for the gas-phase, light-assisted hydrogenation of carbon dioxide to value-added chemicals and fuels, one of the highlights of the research of the solar fuels group that I established and spearheaded since its inception around a decade ago. I am excited that as a result of our pioneering work on carbon dioxide chemical and engineering solutions to climate change, the spin-off company Solistra has been founded recently to take our kind of solar fuels science and technology into the market place.
問：作為一位教授，導師和教師的身份對您的職業生涯來說很重要嗎？
As a professor, has being a mentor and teacher been important to you during your career?
我的職業生涯中特別重要且令我特別有成就感的一個方面是教育。首先也是最重要的，可以在學生的學術職業發展中最具挑戰性的階段對他們給予指導幫助，對我而言是一件非常榮譽，快樂和喜悅的事情。我所知道的知識都是伴隨我的學生們一起學習獲得的。這其中有50名學生在世界一流大學中獲得了教職，其余的學生則是在工業界、政府、商業和法律等領域建立了出色和多樣化的職業生涯。我為他們所取得的成就感到驕傲。
我與已畢業的學生Andre Arseault和Ludovico Cademartiri共同編寫的教科書《納米化學的概念》和《納米化學:納米材料的化學途徑》，這兩本書被全球公認為是向本科生和研究生介紹納米化學的黃金標準參考書。近期，我和我的研究生Mireille Ghoussoub共同編寫的《The Story of CO2 — Big Ideas for a Small Molecule》將在2020年10月由多倫多大學出版社出版。這本書也表達了我對能源材料的發展和未來社會的可持續發展領域的研究與熱情。
除此以外，我通過深入而有趣的演講和在過去的十年里不間斷的在“Advanced Science News”發表觀點社論一百多篇，旨在讓學術界，工業界，政府，媒體，商業，社會投資部門的科學家和工程師了解我們共同面對的緊迫問題。希望這些鼓舞人心，令人深思的觀點可以為改善世界現況提供一些可行的方法。
問：和我們介紹下你的ArtNanoInnovations項目吧
Tell me about your project ArtNanoInnovations.
Geoff和Todd(最左邊前兩位)
ArtNanoInnovations是我和藝術家Todd Siler在2011年共同成立的。在納米科學和納米技術的發展中，自然界給予了很多的創新靈感并幫助研究者解決全球性的挑戰。ArtNano?的目的是用藝術去探索這些自然啟發下的創新。我們通過多鐘多樣的藝術品來隱喻納米科學和自然創造之間的聯系。我和Todd的合作開始于2011年世界文化理事會會議。在這個會議上Todd的藝術工作和我的科學工作分別獲得了達芬奇獎和愛因斯坦獎。
合作是一門藝術，而發展與創新過程也是一門科學。藝術和科學在這里完美相融，造就了我們的ArtNano?項目，在其中展示我們如何使用相同過程進行創造性學習并產生創新想法。我們的探索性工作考慮了納米科學和納米技術領域里眾多實踐創新的潛力，旨在幫助解決我們日前面對的很多緊迫的世界性問題。此外，我們的工作也探索了一些向全世界公眾傳達復雜信息的新方法。例如人類目前用各種策略和技術手段在原子和分子規模上巧妙地操縱物質，以產生前所未有的微小且多功能的結構和系統。ArtNano?項目提供了一些不同尋常的智慧，它們超越了心靈的障礙，超越了我們了解世界方式的差異。
備注：ArtNano? 里的?符號不只是代表版權（copyright）, 還代表創造力， 溝通，合作。此外，?還象征著能轉化成無數種形式并在生活各處應用的“碳”元素。
問：您未來的計劃是什么？
What are your future plans?
作為疫情中高危人群——老年人，由于目前還沒有疫苗，我的未來計劃也變得非常不確定。當然，在任何工作生活計劃中，健康都是第一位的。最后還是取決于我和我的妻子Linda最后想在哪里工作、定居，可以是全職也可能是兼職的方式，可能是在加拿大，美國，英國或者比利時。我們一直致力于健康飲食和保持身體健康。我們也會繼續在上述國家/地區和家人一起度過盡可能多的時光。
問：您有為您的生日安排什么特殊的計劃嗎？
Anything special planned for your birthday?
由于疫情，所有的慶祝都只能是在網上。如果可以，希望能和我以前的同事在網絡上一起慶祝。
問：您希望未來能給世人留下什么？
What do you hope your legacy will be?
我認為從我學術生涯中提煉出來的基礎研究成果，幫助定義和規范了納米化學這一新的學科。納米化學的科研成果也已經滲透到工業世界從產品，工藝到設備的各個角落，因此在我看來，這項成就建構了在研究前沿開展工作中的精髓。此外，納米化學作為新興學科，始終為許多科學相關工作中的進一步發展提供著不可或缺的驅動力，促進著科學，工業和經濟的發展。換句話說，我相信我的工作首先展望了納米材料的未來，并為通向維度不斷縮小的新世界架起了一座橋梁。
T.S. Eliot 在Four Quartets中寫道：“結束也是我的開始” 。Eliot深刻理解Aldous Huxley內心的想法“天才的秘訣是將孩子的精神帶入老年”。Todd Siler說道：“Geoff的創造天賦源于他永恒的好奇心，創造力和求知欲”。
原文鏈接
https://www.advancedsciencenews.com/geoff-ozin-small-materials-with-a-big-impact/
