Unusually mobile supercooled liquids

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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.