Unusually mobile supercooled liquids

该奖项由化学部门化学结构、动力学和机制项目资助，威斯康星大学麦迪逊分校的Mark Ediger教授和Stephen Swallen博士及其研究生将探索通过物理气相沉积制备的过冷液相的动力学。最近在这些相中发现的不寻常的分子迁移率引发了许多问题，这些问题触及了玻璃材料行为的核心。这项研究将涉及许多先进的工具，包括二次离子质谱法（SIMS）、探针分子光漂白，以及与亚利桑那州立大学的Ranko Richert教授合作进行的介电光谱测量。研究人员将通过观察这些不寻常的流动液体转化为普通液体的方式来探索它们的本质。物质的玻璃态在自然界中无处不在，也有许多有用的技术应用，从制造更好的结构材料到开发有机电子学和改进药物配方。除了所支持的研究的更广泛的技术影响外，Ediger教授和他的学生同事将继续参与威斯康星大学麦迪逊分校的PEOPLE项目，在夏季为来自科学领域代表性不足的群体的高二学生提供丰富的教育。

In this award, funded by the Chemical Structure, Dynamics and Mechanisms Program of the Chemistry Division, Prof. Mark Ediger and Dr. Stephen Swallen of the University of Wisconsin - Madison and their graduate research students will explore the dynamics of supercooled liquid phases prepared via physical vapor deposition. The recent discovery of unusual molecular mobility within these phases has prompted many questions that reach to the heart of glassy material behavior. The research will involve a number of advanced tools, including secondary ion mass spectrometry (SIMS), probe molecule photobleaching and, in collaboration with Professor Ranko Richert of Arizona State University, dielectric spectroscopy measurements. The researchers will probe the nature of these unusually mobile liquids by observing the manner in which they transform into the ordinary liquid.The glassy state of matter is ubiquitous in nature, and also has a number of useful technological applications, from the fabrication of better structural materials to the development of organic electronics and improved formulations for pharmaceuticals. Besides the broader technological impacts of the research being supported, Prof. Ediger and his student colleagues will continue their involvement in the University of Wisconsin - Madison's PEOPLE Program, providing educational enrichment in the summer for high school sophomores from groups under-represented in the sciences.