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Electronic, mechanical, and chemical properties of nanoclusters

Atomic scale imaging, manipulation, and spectroscopy Mechanical and electrical properties of molecules in self-assembled films Ambient pressure photoelectron spectroscopy for environnemental sciences Studies of friction, adhesion, and wear at the nanometer scale Electronic, mechanical, and chemical properties of nanoclusters Structure of thin liquid films and wetting Nanoscale material imaging and manipulation (Molecular Foundry) Catalytic and chemical properties of surfaces

Studies of liquid films and surface

We have developed a new technique, which we call Scanning Polarization Force Microscopy (SPFM), that is capable of imaging liquid surfaces and films with nanometer resolution. With it, we have imaged for the first time the condensation and evaporation of monolayers of water on mica in equilibrium with the humid environment. We are applying the new technique to studies of other systems. These include: nanometer scale droplets and their interaction with surfaces, wetting of hydrophilic and hydrophobic surfaces, and acid surfaces. A vast number of new phenomena are being discovered by application of the technique to new systems. Some of the recent ones include: formation of two-dimensional liquids (one or a few molecules thick) and their interaction with surfaces and monoatomic steps, siphoning of two-dimensional water films, etc.

Postdoc: Peng Jiang

Visiting Professor: Kenta Arima

Former Researcher: Albert Verdaguer