Department of Materials and Interfaces 2002

The scientific research of the department focuses on the understanding and design of functional materials with unique physical and chemical properties. This includes a broad range of materials, such as solids with extended bonding displaying cooperative properties (superconductors and semiconductors); solids and liquids with mainly molecular bonding, such as complex fluids and molecular crystals; ultra-thin organic, inorganic and biological films and assemblies; size-quantized nanoparticles and fulleroids; molecularly functionalized semiconductors; metals and polymers, including polymer brushes and polymers for cloud seeding; and composites displaying unique mechanical properties. Biopolymer mechanics and molecular transport phenomena in the cell; imitation of biological transport strategies. Planned self-assembly of novel nanostructures on scanning-probe-patterned organic monolayer templates. Dr. Igor Lubomirsky who joined the department opened an activity in the field of ferroelectric materials. The macroscopic properties of these materials depend upon the nature and structure of their internal interfaces, the regions where different phases in a material come together. Several groups in the department are developing novel theoretical and experimental methodologies for probing liquid-liquid, solid-liquid, solid-solid, solid-gas and liquid-gas interfaces. These include nuclear reaction analysis, force measurement techniques at Ångstrom surface separation, micromechanical testing techniques, electrochemistry, grazing angle X-ray diffraction and X-ray reflectivity using bright and collimated light from synchrotron sources, second harmonic generation, scanning probe microscopy and spectroscopy, grazing angle infrared spectroscopy, and unique applications of X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy.