CAREER: Manipulating near-field optical interactions for nanoscale chemical imaging

在这个由化学系化学测量和成像项目资助的CAREER奖中，来自加州大学圣巴巴拉分校的Gordon教授和他的学生将开发新的扫描探针显微镜仪器，该仪器使用低于衍射极限的振动光谱学来制作空间分辨率为10nm的表面化学图像。这些新工具将用于在空间上关联各种实验场所表面的地形、电子结构、机械性能和化学功能。这项工作的首要主题是探索和更好地理解局部效应（即形状、结构、相分离、电子相互作用和组织）如何影响界面上的化学反应和光电过程。有了这些相关信息，就有可能更好地设计和利用纳米和中观尺度材料系统的独特物理和化学行为。应用领域包括纳米颗粒催化剂的化学成像，研究反应过程中表面的分子转化，探测塑料太阳能电池材料的光学和电荷转移过程。研究生和本科生将在项目的各个方面发挥至关重要的作用；他们将在好奇心驱动、跨学科和协作的环境中进行纳米科学研究。戈登教授将继续努力，通过科学与工程研究实习（RISE）计划，在学年和夏季提供实习机会，为来自代表性不足的群体和大学的学生提供研究经验，让本科生参与研究。学术活动包括开发两门“材料光谱学”讲座/实验课程，向工程专业学生介绍量子力学/固态物理，并提供材料表征设备的实践培训。社区层面的工作重点是建立一个“犯罪现场调查”实验室，中学生和高中生使用便携式拉曼光谱仪，利用基于光谱的化学分析来调查不同材料的结构。戈登教授还将通过开发不同光谱学方法的各种理论和实验方面的网络教程，将研究和教育与科学界结合起来。

In this CAREER award, funded by the Chemical Measurement and Imaging program of the Division of Chemistry, Professor Gordon from the University of California, Santa Barbara, and his students will develop new scanning probe microscopy instruments which use vibrational spectroscopy below the diffraction limit to make chemical images of surfaces at spatial resolutions 10nm. These new tools will be used to spatially correlate the topography, electronic structure, mechanical properties, and chemical functionality of surfaces in a variety of experimental venues. The overarching theme of the work is to probe and better understand how local effects (i.e., shape, structure, phase separation, electronic interactions, and organization) influence chemical reactions and opto-electronic processes at interfaces. Given such correlative information, it will be possible to better engineer and exploit the unique physical and chemical behavior of nano- and meso-scaled material systems. Application areas include chemical imaging of nanoparticle catalysts, studying molecular transformations on surfaces during reaction, and probing optical and charge transfer processes in plastic solar cell materials.Graduate and undergraduate students will play a crucial role in all aspects of the project; they will conduct nanoscience research in a curiosity-driven, interdisciplinary, and collaborative setting. Professor Gordon will continue his efforts to involve undergraduates in research by offering internships during the academic year and summer through the Research Internships in Science and Engineering (RISE) program which provides research experiences to students from underrepresented groups and universities. Scholarly activities include the development of two "Spectroscopy of Materials" lecture/lab courses that introduce quantum mechanics/solid-state physics to engineering students and provide hands-on training with materials characterization equipment. Community-level efforts focus on the development of a "Crime Scene Investigation" lab where middle and high-school students use portable Raman spectrometers to investigate the structure of different materials using spectroscopy-based chemical analysis. Professor Gordon will also integrate research and education with the scientific community at large by developing web-based tutorials on various theoretical and experimental aspects of different spectroscopy methods.