| NSF Org: |
DMR Division Of Materials Research |
| Recipient: |
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| Initial Amendment Date: | August 21, 2019 |
| Latest Amendment Date: | August 21, 2019 |
| Award Number: | 1919887 |
| Award Instrument: | Standard Grant |
| Program Manager: |
Z. Ying
cying@nsf.gov (703)292-8428 DMR Division Of Materials Research MPS Directorate for Mathematical and Physical Sciences |
| Start Date: | September 1, 2019 |
| End Date: | August 31, 2020 (Estimated) |
| Total Intended Award Amount: | $467,740.00 |
| Total Awarded Amount to Date: | $467,740.00 |
| Funds Obligated to Date: |
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| History of Investigator: |
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| Recipient Sponsored Research Office: |
104 AIRPORT DR STE 2200 CHAPEL HILL NC US 27599-5023 (919)966-3411 |
| Sponsor Congressional District: |
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| Primary Place of Performance: |
104 Airport Drive, Ste 2200 Chapel Hill NC US 27599-3150 |
| Primary Place of
Performance Congressional District: |
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| Unique Entity Identifier (UEI): |
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| Parent UEI: |
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| NSF Program(s): | Major Research Instrumentation |
| Primary Program Source: |
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| Program Reference Code(s): |
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| Program Element Code(s): |
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| Award Agency Code: | 4900 |
| Fund Agency Code: | 4900 |
| Assistance Listing Number(s): | 47.049 |
ABSTRACT
Non-Technical Description:
The surfaces of materials play a central role in determining their properties and performance. In applications ranging from energy storage to medicine to computation, scientists need to understand the composition and structure of surfaces to explain their behavior and improve their characteristics. These surfaces include the interfaces found within batteries, the proteins on the surface of a cell, and the interfaces in new kinds of plastics. Understanding surfaces and interfaces is a challenge, however, because the composition and structure of surfaces can vary over tiny distances. These tiny distances can be just one-billionth of a meter, called a nanometer, and the structures may contain just one hundred atoms. To overcome this challenge, the instrument acquired through this Major Research Instrumentation grant is allowing far deeper insight into surfaces by combining a tool that measures composition, called infrared spectroscopy, with a tool that measures nano-sized structures. The resulting instrument, called a nano-infrared spectrometer, enables scientists to study many complex surfaces in detail. This new understanding is enabling important advances in numerous areas of science and technology. In addition, this instrument is providing graduate, undergraduate, and high school students - including those in underrepresented groups - with access to and training on the instrument. The instrument is housed in a shared instrument facility in the Chapel Hill Analytical Nanofabrication Laboratory (CHANL) at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, where the instrument provides hands-on opportunities for training, education, and research.
Technical Description:
Traditional infrared (IR) spectroscopy is a powerful tool that provides deep insight into the composition of materials, but its poor spatial resolution has limited its applications in nanoscience and nanotechnology. To overcome this challenge, the instrument acquired combines IR microscopy with an atomic force microscope (AFM) to measure IR spectra with a spatial resolution of approximately 10 nm. This new tool allows the composition of heterogeneous surfaces to be studied, such as the distribution of proteins on the surface of cells or the interfaces in organic photovoltaics. A distinctive feature of this nano-IR system is the use of multiple quantum cascade lasers as a light source. Collectively, these lasers operate from 800 1/cm to 3600 1/cm, which is an unusually broad range. This range facilitates measurements of many common functional groups, from C-F at 800 1/cm to O-H and N-H at 3600 1/cm. This new capability is allowing complex surfaces to be measured, such as the electrode/electrolyte interface in batteries, where the composition varies on the 10-nm length scale. The ability to discern spatial variations in the chemical functionality of battery electrodes will allow fundamental insight into, for example, mechanisms of degradation. The uses of the nano-IR spectrometer extend beyond measuring functional groups. For example, the instrument is enabling studies on plasmonic nanostructures, where the AFM tip is used to map the spatial distribution of the plasmonic component. These diverse capabilities allow nano-IR to have applications that extend from nanophotonics to electrochemistry to cellular biology.
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.
PROJECT OUTCOMES REPORT
Disclaimer
This Project Outcomes Report for the General Public is displayed verbatim as submitted by the Principal Investigator (PI) for this award. Any opinions, findings, and conclusions or recommendations expressed in this Report are those of the PI and do not necessarily reflect the views of the National Science Foundation; NSF has not approved or endorsed its content.
This project allowed the Chapel Hill Analytical Nanofabrication Laboratory (CHANL) at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill to acquire an atomic force microscope (AFM) spectrometer. The insment shines infrared (IR) light on a sample; if the light is absorbed, the sample heats up, causing the material to expand. The expansion is detected by the atomic force microscope. Because of the small size of the AFM tip, the absorbance of IR light can be detected in regions as small as ~10 nm. This provides a fundamentally new capability, as previous infrared spectrometers could acquire spectra with, at best, 5-10 micron spatial resolution.
During the course of the award, the instrument was built and installed at CHANL, and staff were trained on its use. The instrument now has several regular users and is housed in a shared facility where new users can either provide samples for analysis or be trained on the instrument.
Many of the measurements performed so far have examined the spatially resolved properties of perovskite materials, which are of interest in solar cells. By examining the spectral properties of perovskites with ~10 nm spatial resolution, the researchers have learned how the composition of pervoskites changes across the material. This knowledge is essential towards understanding and improving the behavior of this new class of solar cell materials. Other researchers are using the instrument to develop new methods to further improve the instrument's spatial resolution.
The presence of this instrument has provided new training opportunities for students and scientists in the broader region. Resarchers from UNC, North Carolina State University (NCSU), and North Carolina Central University (NCCU) have all used the instrument.
Last Modified: 01/13/2021
Modified by: Scott Warren
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