Grant: Discovery Grants Program - Individual

The past decade has seen rapid developments in the fields of "nanoscience" and "nanotechnology". Although the potential applications derived from nano-objects are promising, such as bit-elements in super-computers, molecular receptors capable of trapping and detecting air or water pollutants, and drug delivery carriers, the potential nanosciences holds has yet to be fulfilled. In this context, the characterization of these nano-objects or functionalized surfaces using spectroscopic methods combined with advanced microscopy techniques offers information far beyond that provided by pure imaging techniques as it allows the molecular properties of these materials to be correlated with their molecular structures, sizes and compositions. Our program combines state-of-the-art scanning probe microscopies with Raman and Sum-Frequency Generation (SFG) vibrational spectroscopies. Enhancement effects coming from metallic particles or electronic resonances will be used to achieve high detection sensitivities. One goal is to develop new versatile vibrational techniques that surpass conventional optical microscopes in terms of spatial resolution and sensitivity. Such techniques will be used to (i) determine confinement effects in nanomaterials, (ii) dynamically measure the change in conformation of molecular systems under various stimuli, (iii) evaluate chemical interactions and dynamical processes in biomolecules, and (iv) develop an ultrasensitive vibrational technique for single molecule detection.