MRI Track 1: Acquisition of a Photo-Induced Force Microscope for Simultaneous Nanoscopic and Spectroscopic Imaging of Multifunctional Materials and Interfaces

Advanced microscopies play a critical role in understanding material properties and drive research innovation in next-generation materials and processing. A photo-induced force microscope (PiFM) allows researchers to identify and analyze materials at the molecular scale which cannot be achieved using conventional spectroscopy and microscopy. This Major Research Instrumentation (MRI) grant supports the University of Texas Rio Grande Valley (UTRGV) with the acquisition and installation of the PiFM that will stimulate high-quality research in various research areas including functional nanomaterials, nano-biomaterials, advanced material processing, semiconductor material and processing, and energy materials and sustainability.

This instrument will enable the UTRGV researchers from Engineering, Physics, Chemistry and Medicine to study fundamental aspects of functional nano and biomaterials, benefitting students enrolled in newly inaugurated doctoral program in Materials Science and Engineering, and master’s program in Biomedical Engineering. Utilizing the Center for Advanced Manufacturing Innovation and Cyber Systems, Texas Manufacturing Assistance Center and Partnership for Research and Education in Materials Science at UTRGV, this instrument will be offered to broader regional academic partners, industry collaborators, and K-12 students through outreach activities to elevate materials and manufacturing research and education in the Rio Grande Valley.

The Major Research Instrumentation award will support the University of Texas Rio Grande Valley in acquiring and installing a photo-induced force microscope (PiFM), a powerful nanoanalytical imaging tool that offers simultaneous acquisition of 3D topographic images with molecular compound identification at the nanoscale. The researched instrument will potentially enhance the existing research and educational infrastructure and provide a state-of-the-art materials research facility to a broad range of users in Rio Grande Valley.

The instrument has the capability of chemical mapping of complex nanomaterials with better than 10-nanometer spatial resolution. Additionally, the PiFM allows hyperspectral imaging, consisting of both topographic information and a full spectrum at each pixel of the image, allowing the detection of nanoscale molecular distribution mapping. These unprecedented abilities are achieved in PiFM by combining atomic force microscopy with near-field optical interactions induced by a tunable excitation laser.

The PiFM will serve a team of investigators with ongoing diverse materials and processes research including one-dimensional and two-dimensional nanomaterials and nanocomposites, conductive chitosan/nanoparticles Films for neural activity, nano-scale fungal bio foam materials and functional biomaterials for battery applications, metal oxide-based flexible substrates for biosensing, ultrasonic assisted sintering for semiconductor packaging, nano cellulose loaded hybrid biopolymers for tissue constructs, and additive alloying and metal matrix composites.

This award reflects NSF's statutory mission and has been deemed worthy of support through evaluation using the Foundation's intellectual merit and broader impacts review criteria.