An X-Ray Photoelectron Spectroscopy (XPS) system with more advanced capabilities will enhance the research capability and the STEM human resources development of KU as well as other institutions in Kansas and neighboring states. Students, educators, and researchers from local and regional community colleges and institutions with a high percentage of representation of under-represented groups will be contacted and encouraged to apply for free access to the new instrument. Leading-edge research facilities and broad access policy will be instrumental in recruitment of top-quality faculty and students, including those from under-represented groups and/or from families in rural Kansas and Midwestern states that are first-generation STEM students. Finally, the alternative energy and health focused research areas of the users identified in this proposal are expected to have major national and global societal impacts, aided by the XPS system.
Intellectual Description While bulk properties of materials play an important role in selection and use in many applications, a wealth of functionality depends on interface or surface interactions. A slight variation in surface elemental composition and properties may make a material inactive or active or only marginally active. This phenomenon applies across a broad spectrum of applications, ranging from the foundation of catalytic reactions in the manufacture of chemicals and fuels, chemical and biological sensors, energy conversion devices like solar cells, batteries, and fuel cells, to physical, chemical, and biological reactions and interactions at interphases and interfaces of materials such as in dental reparation, drug delivery, tissue restoration, and regeneration. As the size of a material approaches nano-scale, its bulk properties change and approach that of its surface properties. Obtaining reliable information on the surface and near surface elemental compositions, and electronic and chemical properties of nano-materials, is crucial in technology areas such as catalysis, corrosion resistant alloys, energy storage systems, biomaterials, and biomedical and optoelectronic devices.
