CAREER: Manipulating near-field optical interactions for nanoscale chemical imaging

在这个职业奖，由化学部的化学测量和成像计划，教授戈登从加州，圣巴巴拉大学，和他的学生将开发新的扫描探针显微镜仪器，使用振动光谱低于衍射极限，使表面的化学图像在空间分辨率为10纳米。这些新工具将用于在各种实验场所中空间关联表面的形貌、电子结构、机械性质和化学功能。这项工作的首要主题是探索和更好地了解当地的影响（即，形状、结构、相分离、电子相互作用和组织）影响界面处的化学反应和光电过程。有了这些相关信息，就有可能更好地设计和利用纳米和介观尺度材料系统的独特物理和化学行为。应用领域包括纳米颗粒催化剂的化学成像，研究反应过程中表面上的分子转化，以及探测塑料太阳能电池材料中的光学和电荷转移过程。研究生和本科生将在项目的各个方面发挥关键作用;他们将在好奇心驱动的，跨学科的和协作的环境中进行纳米科学研究。戈登教授将继续他的努力，通过在学年和夏季通过科学与工程研究实习（上升）计划，提供研究经验，从代表性不足的群体和大学的学生提供实习，让本科生参与研究。学术活动包括开发两个“材料光谱学”讲座/实验室课程，向工程专业学生介绍量子力学/固态物理学，并提供材料表征设备的实践培训。社区一级的工作重点是建立一个“犯罪现场调查”实验室，初中和高中学生在该实验室使用便携式拉曼光谱仪，通过光谱化学分析来调查不同材料的结构。戈登教授还将通过开发基于网络的各种理论和实验方面的不同光谱学方法的教程，将研究和教育与科学界结合起来。

In this CAREER award, funded by the Chemical Measurement and Imaging program of the Division of Chemistry, Professor Gordon from the University of California, Santa Barbara, and his students will develop new scanning probe microscopy instruments which use vibrational spectroscopy below the diffraction limit to make chemical images of surfaces at spatial resolutions 10nm. These new tools will be used to spatially correlate the topography, electronic structure, mechanical properties, and chemical functionality of surfaces in a variety of experimental venues. The overarching theme of the work is to probe and better understand how local effects (i.e., shape, structure, phase separation, electronic interactions, and organization) influence chemical reactions and opto-electronic processes at interfaces. Given such correlative information, it will be possible to better engineer and exploit the unique physical and chemical behavior of nano- and meso-scaled material systems. Application areas include chemical imaging of nanoparticle catalysts, studying molecular transformations on surfaces during reaction, and probing optical and charge transfer processes in plastic solar cell materials.Graduate and undergraduate students will play a crucial role in all aspects of the project; they will conduct nanoscience research in a curiosity-driven, interdisciplinary, and collaborative setting. Professor Gordon will continue his efforts to involve undergraduates in research by offering internships during the academic year and summer through the Research Internships in Science and Engineering (RISE) program which provides research experiences to students from underrepresented groups and universities. Scholarly activities include the development of two "Spectroscopy of Materials" lecture/lab courses that introduce quantum mechanics/solid-state physics to engineering students and provide hands-on training with materials characterization equipment. Community-level efforts focus on the development of a "Crime Scene Investigation" lab where middle and high-school students use portable Raman spectrometers to investigate the structure of different materials using spectroscopy-based chemical analysis. Professor Gordon will also integrate research and education with the scientific community at large by developing web-based tutorials on various theoretical and experimental aspects of different spectroscopy methods.