This project, supported under the Optical Science and Engineering initiative in the Analytical and Surface Chemistry Program, involves the continued development and application of time resolved photocalorimetric and Raman spectroscopic methods for the characterization of the kinetics, energetics, and molecular structure of short-lived photochemical species within microscale domains. A variety of novel methods will be pursued which will detect very fast reactions occurring within micron to nanometer dimensions, such as may be evident in monolayer, thin film, and colloidal systems. Pulsed-laser Raman spectroscopy will be used to probe free-radical chain initiation reactions; optically launched surface acoustic waves (SAW) will allow the detection of polymerization reaction kinetics within the monolayer region of thin films; a new `photon burst` spectroscopic method which involves the laser excitation of fluorescent-labeled particles and the laser-induced rupture of analyte encapsulated liposomes will allow the determination of particle size distribution and reaction chemistry within colloidal media. These techniques are `cutting- edge` and will offer technology not currently available for probing these environments. Next generation advances in the information, manufacturing, and medical technologies will require the ability to engineer and/or probe microscopic areas at nanosecond timescales. Professor Harris and his students at the University of Utah will pursue several cutting-edge laser spectroscopic techniques that will allow the characterization of processes occurring within single cells, at `stress-fracture` interfaces in materials and/or inside other miniaturized structures.
