EAGER: Proposal for Nonlinear Optical Imaging of Interfacial Acid Base Chemistry

Northwestern University, Evanston IL

Investigators

Abstract

"This award is funded under the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009 (Public Law 111-5)." Professor Franz Geiger of Northwestern University is supported by the Analytical and Surface Chemistry Program in the Division of Chemistry to develop a label-free non-linear optical imaging voltmeter for interrogating fluid/solid interfaces. Using this instrument, Prof. Geiger and his students will determine how the interfacial charge density and the interfacial potential of fluid/solid interfaces evolve in space and time as fluid/solid interfaces undergo acid-base chemistry. The project impact is expected to reach far beyond the immediate SHG community. Specifically, the results obtained from the label-free non linear optical imaging voltmeter are likely to impact many areas in the fields of chemistry, biology, and physics by spawning new research projects aimed at understanding, controlling, and predicting how electrostatics evolve in space and time at fluid/solid interfaces.