Equipment: MRI: Track II Development of an Optical Spectrometer for Multimodal Linearly Polarized, Circularly Polarized, and Integrating-Sphere-Assisted Spectroscopic Measurements

该奖项由主要研究仪器和化学研究仪器项目以及促进竞争性研究的既定项目共同支持。密西西比州立大学和中佛罗里达大学正在开发一种分光计，用于多模态线偏振、圆偏振和积分球辅助光谱测量。该仪器将支持张东茂教授及其同事邹胜利（佛罗里达中部大学）、Colleen Scott、Qilin Dai（杰克逊州立大学）和Sidney Creutz的研究。该仪器促进了化学、化学工程、材料科学和物理领域的研究。一般来说，紫外-可见、荧光、散射和圆二色性是学术界、工业界和科学教育领域研究人员广泛使用的光谱技术。新仪器引入了几种创新的圆偏振光谱方法，这些方法目前在任何商业或出版的工具上都是不可能的。该仪器还显著提高了线偏振和积分球辅助光谱技术的能力。该仪器采用模块化设计，允许灵活控制多个参数，并能够使用同一光谱仪实现许多额外的光谱模式。该仪器的开发涉及与加拿大公司Sciencetech Inc的合作，该公司以其在光学仪器工程解决方案方面的熟练程度而闻名。该工具加强了密西西比州立大学和中佛罗里达大学几个系各级学生的教育、研究和教学工作。密西西比州立大学拥有多元化的学生群体，23%的学生来自代表性不足的群体，主要是黑人或非裔美国人。通过该仪器的研究活动，全国众多的本科生、研究生、博士后和高级研究人员将接受跨学科的培训。该奖项旨在支持各级研究和教育。正在研制的仪器是用于多模态线偏振、圆偏振和积分球辅助光谱测量的光谱仪。该仪器解决了现有线极化和积分球辅助方法的缺点。它提供了几个创新的圆偏振光谱功能。这些测量能力将1)推进我们对光子/物质相互作用的基本理解，2)为非侵入性表征材料特性（包括形态、构象、电子、成分和光学特性）带来新的策略。线偏振、积分球辅助和圆偏振光谱测量新仪器的综合能力将彻底改变手性材料的研究。从这些测量中获得的信息将有助于研究人员定量地了解材料中手性吸收、手性散射和手性发射之间的相互作用。开发的工具将使化学家，生物学家和材料科学家能够更全面地了解他们所研究的材料的结构和性能之间的关系，因为它提高了他们对非侵入性材料表征的能力。该奖项反映了美国国家科学基金会的法定使命，并通过使用基金会的知识价值和更广泛的影响审查标准进行评估，被认为值得支持。

This award is jointly supported by the Major Research Instrumentation and the Chemistry Research Instrumentation programs, and the Established Program to Stimulate Competitive Research. Mississippi State University along with the University of Central Florida are developing an optical spectrometer for multimodal linearly polarized, circularly polarized, and integrating-sphere-assisted spectroscopic measurements. The instrument will support the research of Professor Dongmao Zhang and colleagues Shengli Zou (University of Central Florida), Colleen Scott, Qilin Dai (Jackson State University), and Sidney Creutz. This instrument facilitates research in the areas of chemistry, chemical engineering, materials science, and physics. In general, UV-vis, fluorescence, scattering, and circular dichroism are widely used optical spectroscopic techniques by researchers in academia and industry as well as in scientific education. The new instrument introduces several innovative circularly polarized spectroscopic methods that are not currently possible with any commercial or published tools. The instrument also significantly enhances the capabilities of linearly polarized and integrating-sphere-assisted spectroscopic techniques. The instrument has a modular design that allows for agile controls of a number of parameters and enables the implementation of numerous additional spectroscopic modalities using the same spectrometer. This instrument's development involves a collaboration with Sciencetech Inc, a Canadian company recognized for their proficiency in creating engineering solutions for optical instrumentation. This instrument enhances the educational, research, and teaching efforts of students at all levels in several departments at the Mississippi State University and the University of Central Florida. Mississippi State University boasts a diverse student population, with 23% from underrepresented groups, primarily Black or African American. Through the research activities enabled by this instrument, numerous undergraduate and graduate students, as well as postdocs, and senior researchers across the nation, will receive interdisciplinary training.This award is aimed at supporting research and education at all levels. Instrument being developed is an optical spectrometer for multimodal linearly polarized, circularly polarized, and integrating-sphere-assisted spectroscopic measurements. The instrument addresses shortcomings of existing linearly polarized and integrating-sphere-assisted approaches. It offers several innovative circularly polarized spectroscopic capabilities. These measurement capabilities will 1) advance our fundamental understanding of photon/matter interactions, 2) lead to new strategies for noninvasive characterization of materials properties, including morphological, conformational, electronic, compositional, and optical properties. The combined capabilities of the new instrument for linearly polarized, integrating-sphere-assisted, and circularly polarized spectroscopic measurements will revolutionize chiral materials research. The information derived from these measurements will help researchers quantitatively understand the interactions between chiral absorption, chiral scattering, and chiral emission in materials. The developed tool will enable chemists, biologists, and materials scientists to achieve a more comprehensive understanding of the relationship between structure and properties of the materials they study, as it enhances their capability for non-invasive materials characterization.This award reflects NSF's statutory mission and has been deemed worthy of support through evaluation using the Foundation's intellectual merit and broader impacts review criteria.