Advanced Optical Characterization and Imaging of Single-Walled Carbon Nanotubes

本研究由化学系化学测量与影像计画所资助，由R。莱斯大学的布鲁斯韦斯曼正在开发新的方法来表征和纯化一类在科学和技术上非常重要的纳米材料：单壁碳纳米管（SWCNT）。这些纳米管显示出许多显着的特性，使他们的研究人员追求基础科学以及现实世界的应用极大的兴趣。然而，在这一领域的进展往往是有限的困难，在寻找特定的纳米管结构，存在于样品中的数量，评估纳米管的质量，检测它们在生物和环境标本中的痕量，并分选纳米管混合物成纯结构的形式。该项目使用新的实验方法来解决这些挑战。这项研究将通过代表性不足的少数民族和理科女学生的参与和专业发展产生更广泛的影响。此外，该项目的实验方法和研究结果将加速开发基于碳纳米管的具有经济价值的新商业技术。该项目将探索和开发方差光谱，这是一种新的光学技术，可以作为整体和单颗粒制度之间的桥梁，可以揭示纳米颗粒的浓度，发射效率，不均匀性和聚集。最近开发的方法将被用来直接测量的绝对，结构特定的吸收截面需要量化的单壁碳纳米管（SWCNT）样品的组成。改进的分析方法将支持更有效地按长度对SWCNT进行分类的努力。该项目还将侧重于提高检测和成像痕量浓度复杂样品中存在的单壁碳纳米管的灵敏度极限。

In this project funded by the Chemical Measurement and Imaging Program of the Division of Chemistry, Professor R. Bruce Weisman of Rice University is developing new ways to characterize and purify a scientifically and technologically important class of nanomaterials: single-walled carbon nanotubes (SWCNTs). These nanotubes display many remarkable properties that make them of great current interest to researchers pursuing basic science as well as real-world applications. However, progress in this field is often limited by difficulties in finding the amounts of specific nanotube structures that are present in samples, assessing the nanotube quality, detecting them in trace quantities in biological and environmental specimens, and sorting nanotube mixtures into pure structural forms. This project addresses these challenges using novel experimental methods. This research will provide broader impacts through the participation and professional development of underrepresented minority and women science students. In addition, the experimental methods and findings of the project should speed the development of new and economically valuable commercial technologies based on carbon nanotubes.The project will explore and develop variance spectroscopy, a new optical technique that serves as a bridge between bulk and single-particle regimes and can reveal nanoparticle concentrations, emission efficiencies, inhomogeneities, and aggregation. A recently developed method will be used to directly measure the absolute, structure-specific absorption cross-sections needed to quantify the compositions of single-walled carbon nanotube (SWCNT) samples. Improved analysis methods will support efforts to more effectively sort SWCNTs by length. The project will also focus on enhancing the sensitivity limits for detecting and imaging SWCNTs present in complex samples at trace concentrations.