Center for Nanostructured Materials

The physics and chemistry of nanostructured materials has been a central theme of science and technology for the last few decades of the 20th century, and the trend is expected to continue. Several interdisciplinary groups of physicists, chemists and material scientists are working in this emerging area of nanoscience in the Center for Nanostructured Materials (CNM) to foster interdisciplinary collaborations, share and provide instrumentation and technical assistance, and train undergraduates and graduate students in the science of nanostructured materials. CNM has several state-of-the-art equipment to support interdisciplinary research, e. g., atomic force microscopy, x-ray photoelectron spectroscopy, x-ray diffraction for characterization of thin-film, powder, as well as single-crystal structures, superconducting quantum interference device (SQUID), physical property measurement system (PPMS), electron paramagnetic resonance, Raman spectroscopy, mass spectrometer, etc. About 15-20 research faculty, several postdoctoral research associates, and students from the departments of physics, chemistry, and materials science collaborate on interdisciplinary research, proposal submissions, and planning of joint research with industry and federal research laboratories. Some of the current experimental and theoretical research activities are focused on the investigations of: (1) magnetic nanoparticles and thin films, (2) semiconductor quantum-dot nanomaterials, (3) electro-optical properties of soft-matter nanostructures, (4) nanostructured materials and techniques for biological applications, (5) nanostructured luminescent materials for sensor applications, (6) synthesis and study of electrically conducting, light emitting and self assembled second order nonlinear optical polymers, and (7) nanostructured materials for automated intelligent analyzers, thin film flow devices and sensors.