What happens when you can get IR spectra at the nanoscale?
Dr. Derek Nowak discusses PiFM, an AFM-IR-based technique, to explain how IR spectroscopy and imaging can be extended to the nanoscale. With sub 5 nm lateral resolution and single-molecule-level sensitivity, PiFM opens up a wide variety of research avenues ranging from exploring nano-crystallin structures for drug delivery to process/failure analysis in semiconductor nanofabrication.
Improving Fluorescence and Raman Techniques for Environmental Microplastic Analysis
March 31st 2025A recent study conducted at the LaserLaB Amsterdam and Vrije Universiteit Amsterdam (the Netherlands) explored spectroscopic imaging techniques, including Raman and fluorescence microscopy, for characterizing microplastics (MPs), focusing on optimizing sample preparation, particularly density separation, and Nile Red staining.Spectroscopy spoke to Merel Konings, corresponding author of the paper resulting from the study, about her work
New Study Provides Insights into Chiral Smectic Phases
March 31st 2025Researchers from the Institute of Nuclear Physics Polish Academy of Sciences have unveiled new insights into the molecular arrangement of the 7HH6 compound’s smectic phases using X-ray diffraction (XRD) and infrared (IR) spectroscopy.
