With this award from the Major Research Instrumentation (MRI) program, Piotr Piotrowiak and colleagues Elena Galoppini, Frieder Jaekle, Huixin He and Evert Elzinga from Rutgers University Newark will acquire a field emission scanning electron microscope (SEM) with energy dispersed X-ray spectrometer (EDS). The proposal is aimed at enhancing research, research training and education at all levels. The instrument will support research in a number of areas including studies of exciton and charge dynamics in semiconductor nanostructures and hybrid molecular/nanoparticle systems, investigation of geochemical processes at mineral-water interfaces that control the speciation of heavy metals, studies directed at a molecular-level understanding of interfacial electron transfer through the synthesis of 'sensitizer' dyes, the development of new synthetic chemistry of organoboron compounds and functional polymers with sub-micron structure, and the development of hybrid sensors based on nanotube-polymer interactions.
A scanning electron microscope (SEM) is one of the basic tools available for the characterization of materials. A beam of electrons scans the surface of a sample resulting in a microimage of the sample composition. The electron microscope can provide higher resolution and magnification than a microscope using light to probe the material. Characteristic X-rays are produced from interaction with atoms in the sample that when dispersed provide information on the elemental composition (EDS). This instrumentation will provide microscopy training and research opportunities to graduate and undergraduate students across many fields including chemistry, earth sciences and environmental science fields preparing them for the demands of the 21st century workforce in science and technology.
Intellectual merit: The Scanning Electron Microscope allows us to image the materials of interest with the resolution of 1 nanometer, i.e. the size of a few atoms. This ability is crucial for the understanding of important chemical and electronic processes which occur at the boundary between nanomaterials and molecules, surfaces and the environment, etc. Such interfacial processes lie at the basis of of the action of electronic devices such as LEDs, solar panels, sensors and ligh detectors. In a nutshell, the key step of any process or device converting light to electricity (photovoltaics) or vice versa, converting electricity to light (display) is the separation of recombination charges at an interface between two materials. The new microscope gives us the ability to literally see topography and chemical composition of these crucial interfaces, while prior to this acquisition our work was based on incomplete and much more speculative assumptions about the morphology and local composition of the materials of interest. This has been a giant leap in the level and precision of research that we can conduct. For example, we can understand how light is converted to electrical charges in a 5 nanometer layer of a polymer on a gold substrate and how these charges migrate into the metal, as they do in a photovoltaic device or a sensor. Broader impact: The acquision of the Field Emission Scanning Electron Microscope has enabled the team of investigators to expand their research into new areas of high practical relvance. Specifically, the research programs of the Galoppini, Piotrowiak and Jaekle groups are focused on the development of new, renewable energy sources (light energy conversion) and the discovery of new materials based on abundant, nontoxic and environmentally friendly ingredients. The current research program of He is centered on using nanomaterials as drug delivery vehicles and the precise knowledge of the shape and size of the particles is of critical importance. Furthermore, the new SEM instrument greatly enhanced our educational offerings at the graduate and advanced undergraduate levels. Hands-on electron microscopy training has been incorporated into two courses which will be from now on regularly offered in the Rutgers-Newark Chemistry Department. Lastly, but equally importantly, the Field Emission Scanning Electron microscope represents a significant addition to the research infrastructure on the Newark Campus of Rutgers University. The PIs hope that the FE SEM it will serve as a nucleus for a central electron microscopy and surface characterization facility for Rutgers-Newark, the adjacent academic institutions and start-up companies in norther New Jersey. It has already enabled us to establish new collaborations and initiate research projects that otherwise would be imposiible.
