With support from the Chemical Measurement and Imaging Program, Profs. Stefan Franzen and Jon-Paul Maria of North Carolina State University and Karl Booksh of the University of Delaware are investigating the structure/property relationships that regulate surface chemical interactions, and the mid-infrared optical properties of electrically conducting oxides, metallic nanoparticles, and their hybrid combinations. Specifically, the multidisciplinary team is studying surface plasmon oscillations in the mid-infrared, and how those oscillations can be tuned by modulating the nanostructure of conducting oxides. Effects on tunability of these optical phenomena by incorporation of metallic nanoparticles are also under investigation.
The work seeks new understanding of how light interacts with solid surfaces. It will provide new opportunities to probe the attachment of macromolecules and biomolecules on robust oxide surfaces, enabling novel mechanisms for surface characterization and sensing. It also provides opportunities for graduate students (particularly those from underrepresented groups) to collaborate with researchers in Poland and China through the PIs' well-established international exchange programs.
