9317660 Evans This award, made by the Analytical and Surface Chemistry Program, provides support for a collaborative research project involving Professors Thiel and Evans at Iowa State University. During the tenure of this three-year continuing grant, the PIs will investigate nonequilibrium structure in metal-on-metal films using a well-defined combination of theory and experiment. Professor Thiel will explore nonequilibrium structures which are formed due to limited rates of edge diffusion, island dissolution, or escape from islands. Professor Evans will carry out the complex theoretical modeling of the nonequilibrium experimental systems. This unique collaboration between a chemist and mathematician will allow combined experimental and theoretical analyses of size and density distributions during nucleation and growth of island structures. The experimental methods to be used include scanning tunneling microscopy and low-energy-electron diffraction. %%% Professors Thiel and Evans will investigate the experimental and theoretical aspects of film growth on solid surfaces. The objective of the proposed research is to enhance our understanding of the growth of thin films and the chemical factors that control the mechanisms and rates of growth of these technologically important systems. ***
