Probing Interfaces and Surfaces with Molecular Fluorescence

Download or read book Probing Interfaces and Surfaces with Molecular Fluorescence written by Chao-Chun Hsu and published by . This book was released on 2024 with total page 0 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: "This thesis explores the use of fluorescent molecules to study surfaces and interfaces. Our focus is on developing methods to spatially resolve surface and interface properties in-situ. This allows us to develop better insights into the friction taking place between two surfaces , and the phase separation in polymer blends. The research is divided into two main sections. The first section focuses on using fluorescence microscopy with mechanically sensitive fluorophores to study complex mechanical contacts. We developed mechanochromic fluorescent probes that are sensitive to shear, compression, and free volume; these are attached to a glass surface, a microscopy slide. A polymer sphere is subsequently brought into contact with the probe layer, which can then be observed using fluorescence microscopy. The experiments allow us to visualize the actual contact area between the sphere and the cover slide and extract local information within the contact zone. This approach bridges the gap from nanoscopic to macroscopic scales in understanding friction. The second part of the thesis is dedicated to enhancing the super-resolution PAINT method with polarity sensitive probes for visualizing the phase separation structure of polymer mixtures. This technique reveals nanoscale polymer phases in recycled polymer blends, potentially altering our view of the recyclability of materials previously considered non-recyclable."--