Materials interact with their environment through their surfaces. Knowledge about the surface properties of materials is crucial to designing the next generation of materials with targeted characteristics spanning chemical, optical, electronic, thermal, mechanical, biological, and other applications. Recent developments in ion scattering spectroscopy provide unprecedented resolution and sensitivity for the top atomic layer of materials, which most critically affects behaviors such as catalytic reactivity, coating permeability, or charge transport in photovoltaics. This project involves the acquisition of a high-sensitivity low-energy ion scattering spectrometer, which will be a vital resource for the greater Rocky Mountain Region and its many researchers. The instrument will stimulate the establishment of new collaborations in studying catalysis, atomic layer deposition and coatings, photovoltaics, and solid state structure and interfaces, among other areas. The project researchers will create a new annual, web-based surface science symposium to connect the geographically diffuse researchers of the region. As a publicly available resource, the instrument will advance the scientific missions of local academic, government, and industrial institutions.
Ion scattering spectroscopy can achieve true atomic layer surface sensitivity by measuring momentum transfer during the recoil of low energy, non-destructive ions off of the surface atoms of a sample. This methodology stands out amongst other techniques such as X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy, which probe the near-surface region of materials to a depth of several nanometers. Recent hardware advances, mainly in ion optics, have improved the detection sensitivity of ion scattering spectroscopy by three orders of magnitude over older conventional analyzers. This "high sensitivity" ion scattering spectroscopy is still sparingly accessible; the proposed instrument will be only the second comparable instrument in North America. It also will be the only one to have capabilities to transfer samples from liquid reaction environments, opening new frontiers in understanding surfaces exposed to solvents, such as in electrochemical systems. The instrument will be used to study a wide array of critical surface properties in catalysis, atomic layer deposition and coatings, photovoltaics, and solid-state structure.
This award reflects NSF's statutory mission and has been deemed worthy of support through evaluation using the Foundation's intellectual merit and broader impacts review criteria.
