Dynamics of Vapor-deposited Glasses and 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教授和他的研究生将探索气相沉积玻璃和液体的动力学。最近发现可以通过物理气相沉积制备高度稳定的玻璃，这引发了许多关于制备这些材料的机制和它们的最终性能可能是什么的问题。这项研究将涉及先进的表征工具，包括纳米量热法，并与亚利桑那州立大学的Ranko Richert教授合作，进行介电光谱测量。研究人员将直接探测玻璃表面的迁移率，并以此来了解稳定玻璃是如何形成的。他们将研究涂层在多大程度上可以消除表面迁移性。研究人员将尝试使用介电弛豫来量化高稳定玻璃中非常少量的迁移率。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计划，在夏季为来自科学领域代表性不足的群体的高中三年级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 of the University of Wisconsin - Madison and his graduate research students will explore the dynamics of vapor-deposited glasses and liquids. The recent discovery that highly stable glasses can be prepared by physical vapor deposition has prompted many questions about the mechanism by which these materials are prepared and what their ultimate properties might be. The research will involve advanced characterization tools including nanocalorimetry and, in collaboration with Professor Ranko Richert of Arizona State University, dielectric spectroscopy measurements. The researchers will directly probe mobility at the surface of glasses and use this to understand how stable glasses are formed. They will investigate the extent to which surface mobility can be eliminated by coatings. The researchers will attempt to use dielectric relaxation to quantify the very small amounts of mobility in highly stable glasses.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 juniors from groups under-represented in the sciences.