The Department of Chemistry at Pennsylvania State University will use this award from the Chemical Research Instrumentation Program and the National Facilities and Instrumentation Program to help acquire a Fourier transform infrared (FTIR) spectrometer. The areas of chemical research that will be enhanced by the acquisition include the following: FTIR Studies of Interactions in Polymer Blends, IR-Microscope Studies of Phase Separation in Polymer Blends, Crystallization from Polymer Blends, New Conducting Polymers, FT-Raman Studies of Various Highly Fluorescing and Colored Samples, The management of Optical Constants of Materials, New IR Studies of Acid-Base Interactions, FT-Raman Studies of Metal Clusters on Polymer Surfaces and Far-IR Studies of Thin Films and Surfaces. Fourier Transform Infrared (FTIR) spectroscopy is a technique that used absorption of infrared energy to probe molecular structure. When used in conjunction with a modern computer, FTIR studies on large numbers of samples can be conveniently carried out and the resulting data readily analyzed. The use of FTIR spectroscopy is essential to chemists who are carrying out research in many important frontier areas.
