Joh et al , Nano Lett . ASAP (cover article, Jan 2011)

1. Colorful Carbon Nanotubes:On-Chip Rayleigh Imaging and Spectroscopy JiwoongPark, Cornell University, DMR 0748530 Carbon nanotubes (CNTs) represent a promising material for future carbon-based electronics applications. We have developed a new technique based on Rayleigh scattering that allows us to image and take spectra of CNTs sitting on the substrate they were grown on quickly and with minimal sample preparation. One of the key technical achievements was the development of a way to greatly reduce background scattering so that even sub-nanometer diameter CNTs can be clearly visible under the microscope. Since many CNTs can be imaged and spectrally analyzed at once, this method provides a powerful high-throughput characterization tool to look at key CNT properties. Inter-tube coupling and intra-molecular CNT junctions are two examples of phenomena we can address. O Ba Sr Si 20 μm A representative spatial Rayleigh image shows more than 20 aligned CNTs simultaneously (in false color corresponding to the wavelengths of scattering resonance peaks). Inset: Schematic of the optical setup. The incident laser is introduced at an angle, travels through a set of index-matched media, and is reflected completely at the uppermost interface with a lower refractive index medium (air). Johet al,NanoLett. ASAP (cover article, Jan 2011)

2. Educational OutreachJiwoong Park, Cornell University, DMR 0748530 The Park Group has participated in a variety of educational outreach initiatives. Prof. Park lectured on kinetics for the CCMR Institute for Chemistry Teachers (CICT), a professional development program whose aim is to give high school chemistry teachers a deeper understanding of the topics they teach in class. Graduate students Robin Havener and Daniel Joh organized a session on spectrometry as part of Expanding Your Horizons (EYH), a CCMR program to get middle school girls interested in math and science. Additionally, graduate student Michael Segal volunteers with the Cornell Prison Education Program (CPEP), teaching math to incarcerated men at the Auburn Correctional Facility in Auburn, NY. Graduate student Michael Segal watches New York State high school chemistry teachers perform a version of the iodine clock reaction during a kinetics laboratory, part of the CICT Contemporary Chemistry for Teachers course offered at Cornell.