The project will develop and implement undergraduate experiments in surface analysis using the technique scanning tunneling microscopy (STM). Although characterization of surfaces is a central activity of many chemists in the chemical, semiconductor, petroleum, polymer and biotechnology industries, it remains a subject which is rarely addressed in undergraduate coursework at institutions throughout the U.S. Because STM is capable of surface imaging under ambient conditions (instead of under high vacuum) and due to the recent introduction of low cost commercial instructional STM instruments, it is now possible to implement a meaningful experience in surface analytical chemistry at the undergraduate level. Students will image standard materials at atomic resolution, and then examine a modified surface at low resolution, thus gaining exposure to tunneling phenomena, surface visualization and image processing software.
