MRI: Acquisition of a Raman Microscope for Undergraduate Research and Education

Western Carolina University, Cullowhee NC

Investigators

Abstract

With this award from the Major Research Instrumentation (MRI) and the Chemistry Division, Professor David D. Evanoff and colleague Scott Huffman from Western Carolina University will acquire a Raman microscope. The proposal is aimed at enhancing research, research training and education in diverse areas of study that include identifying the materials and methods used to produce the cultural heritage artifacts of the various southern Appalachian people, measuring to what extent silver nanoparticles of varying size can increase the efficiency of electron production in organic solar cells through metal enhanced fluorescence, and determining the mechanisms by which organic wastewater contaminants move through and bind Southern Appalachian sub-soil systems. Raman spectroscopy measures the vibrational frequencies between atoms and molecules in a sample which are characteristic of the chemical content, composition and structure of the material. A Raman microscope scans across a sample to provide a spatial image of the chemical composition in response to the laser probe. This widely used technique, employing lasers to probe the material, is non-destructive. This instrument will strengthen undergraduate education by use in their research projects and in laboratory courses including a forensic chemistry course. Outreach activities with local high schools will give students a sense of research and illustrate the interconnectiveness of science, history and art.