U.S.-Chile Cooperative Research: Ellipsometric Studies of Alkane Selective Adsorption

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9605227 Tau` This Americas Program award will support a collaborative research project between Dr. Haskell Taub, University of Missouri, Columbia, and Dr. Ulrich Volkmann, Pontificia Universidad Catolica, Santiago, Chile, to conduct ellipsometric studies of alkane selective adsorption. A fundamental problem in polymer science concerns how a polymer species adsorbs from a multicomponent fluid mixture onto a solid surface. The goal of the research is to use model systems to elucidate the mechanism of selective adsorption in which one molecular species preferentially adsorbs from solution at a solid interface. Recent scanning tunneling microscopy (STM) studies have revealed crystalline structures for long-alkane monolayers on the graphite basal-plane surface as well as qualitative features of the molecular packing. They have not, however, answered basic structural and dynamical questions related to their selective adsorption. The proposed research will address these questions. A microscopic understanding of this selective adsorption could impact greatly on technologies related to coatings, adhesion, and lubrication. The collaboration between the two researchers will provide a unique opportunity to apply complementary experimental techniques to the studies. Professor Volkmann is one of the world's experts in the use of ellipsometric techniques to investigate the structure and growth of physisorbed films, while Dr. Taub brings his expertise in the application of neutron scattering techniques. ***