This Faculty Early Career Development (CAREER) project, supported in the Analytical and Surface Chemistry Program, focusses on the study of structure and defect chemistry at grain boundaries in conventional and nanocrystalline ceramics. During the tenure of this three-year continuing grant, Professor Tissue and his students at Virginia Polytechnic Institute & State University will approach this problem using laser-excited fluorescence (LIF) techniques. Rare earth ions will be incorporated into ceramic materials and these local probes, which segregate at interfaces during materials synthesis, will be interrogated using LIF. The objectives of this research are (1) to characterize the structure and defect chemistry at grain boundaries, (2) to determine the utility of probe-ion spectroscopy for interface characterization, and (3) to identify novel optical properties of rare-earth ions in restricted geometries. Also during this grant period, Professor Tissue will pursue an education plan that focusses on the development and evaluation of chemistry hypermedia for undergraduate students in instrumental analysis and analytical chemistry. The ability to probe the structure and composition of grain boundaries and defects in ceramic oxide materials is of crucial importance in materials chemistry and processing. This CAREER research project utilizes rare-earth based laser induced fluorescence in the development of an enabling analytical technology with which to address this problem. The educational aspects of this CAREER project will give rise to the integration state-of-the-art information technology in the teaching of chemistry at the undergraduate and graduate levels.
