With this award from the Major Research Instrumentation (MRI) and the Chemistry Division, Professor David D. Evanoff and colleague Scott Huffman from Western Carolina University will acquire a Raman microscope. The proposal is aimed at enhancing research, research training and education in diverse areas of study that include identifying the materials and methods used to produce the cultural heritage artifacts of the various southern Appalachian people, measuring to what extent silver nanoparticles of varying size can increase the efficiency of electron production in organic solar cells through metal enhanced fluorescence, and determining the mechanisms by which organic wastewater contaminants move through and bind Southern Appalachian sub-soil systems.
Raman spectroscopy measures the vibrational frequencies between atoms and molecules in a sample which are characteristic of the chemical content, composition and structure of the material. A Raman microscope scans across a sample to provide a spatial image of the chemical composition in response to the laser probe. This widely used technique, employing lasers to probe the material, is non-destructive. This instrument will strengthen undergraduate education by use in their research projects and in laboratory courses including a forensic chemistry course. Outreach activities with local high schools will give students a sense of research and illustrate the interconnectiveness of science, history and art.
The 3-year goal for this award was to purchase and deploy a Raman spectroscopic imaging system at a primarily undergraduate university to enhance the research agenda of the science faculty at the university, to provide hands on Raman spectroscopy and imaging exposure and experience of undergraduate students, masters students and other researchers, and to establish an additional and visually interesting focal point of material science outreach for the general public. The first year and a half were spent purchasing components and commissioning the Raman imaging system. The second half of the second year, were spent determining the measurement parameters and limitations of the system for the specific types of samples utilized in our various research projects, and beginning exposure to the university as a whole to the capabilities of new instrument. The third year saw an increase in the application of Raman spectroscopy and imaging in all three goals of the award. Research on the Raman system spans the areas of nanomaterials chemistry, art conservation, and forensic science. In all areas of research, undergraduate and M.S. students are trained to become independant operators of the instrumentation. Of the research students that have used the instrumentation, 86% are female and 71% have been undergraduates. To date from this award, four presentations at national conferences have been given by the principal investigators and their students and one manuscript has been published in a peer-reviewed journal. One M.S. thesis has been completed, and two more will be completed by the end of 2014. The principal investigators will continue to use this instrumentation for many years to come and fully expect this instrumentation to remain an integral component of their research agendas. In addition, the Raman spectrometer system has also been used in two senior level courses. THis incorporation into the curriculum has allowed for exposure of this instrumentation to a large number of our undergraduate students. Although the instrumentation is quite complex, the open optical paths provide a wealth of teaching opportunities and give the students a tangible reference to what they've discussed in the classroom. As for the outreach goal of this award, over one hundred non-university members of the general public have viewed Raman imaging system as part of either campus visits from local public schools, as part of after school programs hosted at the university, and as part of universities participation in the statewide NC Science Festival.
