Chemistry and Spectroscopy on the Mesoscale: Near-Field Optical Studies of Electrochromic Materials Dispersed in Polymer Matrices

堪萨斯州立大学的启动基金支持丹尼尔·a·希金斯教授的研究。本研究的重点是用近场扫描光学显微镜研究介观结构材料的基本物理和化学性质。研究了酞菁素基聚合物分散电致变色材料的薄膜。表征了薄膜形态，并阐明了薄膜形态对电致变色分子局部组织的影响。由于这些固有的介观结构薄膜的局部性质与它们的平均性质有很大的不同，这项研究有望更好地理解这些和其他高结构材料。从技术角度来看，聚合物分散材料正在开发用于光学，显示，探测器和数据存储技术以及催化等多种应用。这项研究有助于这些技术的进步。

This starter grant award to Kansas State University supports the research of Professor Daniel A. Higgins. The research focusses on the fundamental physical and chemical properties of mesostructured materials as studied by near-field scanning optical microscopy. Thin films of polymer-dispersed electrochromic materials including phthalocyanin-based materials are studied. Film morphology is characterized and its effects on local organization of the electrochromic molecules are elucidated. Since local properties of these inherently mesostructured films are dramatically different from their average properties, the research promises to provide a better understanding of these and other highly structured materials. From a technological perspective, polymer-dispersed materials are being developed for diverse applications in optics, display, detector, and data storage technologies, as well as in catalysis. The research contributes to the advancement of these technologies.