Materials at the Nanoscale: Structure, Properties and Applications

具有纳米尺度尺寸的材料的行为通常与本体中的行为相比发生深刻的改变。 主动性引入了一种额外的途径来调整机械，光学，热，电和磁特性，这允许进一步探索基本过程，并在广泛的材料相关应用中产生新的机会。 纳米尺度及以下的结构表征是开发和理解这些新材料的重要组成部分。 使用透射电子显微镜作为主要的研究技术，拟议的研究将研究低维和纳米颗粒系统，其应用范围从电子和工业到医学和环境。 其中的系统进行调查是纳米复合材料涉及超顺磁性氧化铁颗粒，最近引起了相当大的关注，其潜在的治疗重要的化合物的运输以及改进的工业催化剂的发展。 表现出电荷密度波（CDW）的低维材料代表了研究重点的第二个领域。 CDW是在过渡金属硫属化物化合物中经常观察到的原子晶格和传导电子密度的周期性耦合畸变。 晶体生长的进展，创造了新的机会，以研究降低维数对这些化合物的CDW性能的影响，并将提供新的见解，最终使这些独特的系统进行调整和利用的实际应用。

The behavior of materials with nanometer scale dimensions is often profoundly altered from that prevailing in the bulk. Dimensionality introduces an additional avenue to tune the mechanical, optical, thermal, electrical and magnetic properties which allows further exploration of the fundamental processes as well as generating new opportunities across a wide gamut of materials-related applications. Structural characterization at the nanometer scale and below is an essential component of the development and understanding of these novel materials. Using transmission electron microscopy as the primary investigative technique, the proposed research will examine low-dimensional and nanoparticle systems with applications ranging from electronics and industry to medicine and the environment. Among the systems to be investigated are nanocomposites involving superparamagnetic iron oxide particles, which have recently attracted considerable attention related to their potential for the transport of therapeutically important compounds as well as the development of improved industrial catalysts. Low-dimensional materials exhibiting charge density waves (CDW) represent a second area of research focus. A CDW is a periodic, coupled distortion of the atomic lattice and the conduction electron density often observed in transition metal chalcogenide compounds. Advances in crystal growth, have created new opportunities to investigate the effects of reduced dimensionality on CDW properties in these compounds and will provide new insights to ultimately enable these unique systems to be tuned and exploited for practical applications.