Atomic Force Microscope

该应用要求原子力显微镜（AFM）能够成像纳米级结构，如聚合物功能化碳纳米管、量子点、聚合物组件和纳米结构表面。所要求的仪器是布鲁克Multimode-8J，它配备了一个提升模式选项，可以进行电气测量，将被麦克马斯特大学至少8个不同的研究小组使用，并且是正在进行的研究的关键。这将是麦克马斯特大学化学系内独一无二的仪器，化学研究小组没有其他同类仪器。特别是，它将对一些涉及使用共轭聚合物净化碳纳米管的项目有用，其中聚合物用于选择性地包裹半导体和金属结构。在这些项目中，必须证明碳纳米管被剥离成单独的聚合物纳米管结构，这只能通过原子力显微镜的可视化和高度轮廓测量来完成。此外，该仪器将允许测量样品中的平均纳米管长度，这告诉我们处理条件对纳米管起始材料完整性的影响。我们的研究小组发表的每一篇关于聚合物与碳纳米管相互作用的论文都需要AFM数据，没有这些数据，我们的论文就不可能提交给高影响力的期刊。此外，该仪器将用于分析纳米结构表面和电极，以了解表面特征尺寸作为制备条件的函数。这将使新的柔性和可拉伸电极的生产和分析成为可能，这些电极将用于制造新的塑料电子产品。目前，唯一可用于这些研究的AFM仪器已经使用了20多年，并且在过去的3年中由于部件故障而停机了很长时间。这一文书的分辨率已不再足够，使我们无法收集在国际一级具有竞争力的数据。一个现代化的替代仪器对我们的研究计划至关重要，我们正在努力开发新材料，这些材料将在许多应用中有用，包括柔性触摸屏，可弯曲显示器和可拉伸晶体管，这些将成为未来光电设备的组成部分。

This application requests an atomic force microscope (AFM) that is capable of imaging nano-scale structures, such as polymer-functionalized carbon nanotubes, quantum dots, polymeric assemblies, and nano-structured surfaces. The requested instrument, a Bruker Multimode-8J equipped with a lift-mode option that enables electrical measurements, will be used by at least 8 different research groups at McMaster university, and is critically needed for the research being carried out. It will be a unique instrument within the Department of Chemistry at McMaster, with no other instrument of its type being available to chemistry research groups. In particular, it will be useful for a number of projects involving carbon nanotube purification using conjugated polymers, where the polymers are used to selectively wrap semiconducting and metallic structures. Within these projects, it is imperative to prove that carbon nanotubes are exfoliated into individual polymer:nanotube structures, which can only be done through visualization and measurement of height profiles by atomic force microscopy. In addition, this instrument will allow measurement of average nanotube length in a sample, which informs us about the impact of processing conditions on the integrity of the nanotube starting material. Every publication from our research group that deals with polymer interactions with carbon nanotubes requires AFM data, without which it is impossible to submit our papers to high-impact journals. Furthermore, this instrument will be used to analyze nanostructured surfaces and electrodes to gain an understanding of surface feature size as a function of preparation conditions. This will enable the production and analysis of new flexible and stretchable electrodes that will be used in the fabrication of new plastic electronics. Currently, the only AFM instrument available for these studies is over 20 years old, and has had extensive down-time in the past 3 years caused by malfunctioning components. The resolution of this instrument is no longer adequate, and does not allow us to collect data that is competitive on an international level. A modern replacement instrument is of critical importance to our research program, which is working to develop new materials that will be useful in numerous applications, including flexible touch screens, bendable displays, and stretchable transistors that will become integral components of future optoelectronic devices.