Departmental Seminar - Materials Science and Engineering: Prof. Maya Bar-Sadan

Prof. Maya Bar Sadan

Associate Professor

Chemistry Department, Ben Gurion University of the Negev

Following Growth Processes of Nanomaterials: Designing Particles on the Atomic Scale

Nanostructures are one of the most extensively researched systems in nanoscience. While reports on the optical properties of single particles are available, the quantitative characterization of atomic order on a single particle level and the growth mechanism that resulted in that specific rearrangement, are still generally missing. The majority of characterization procedures are performed on ensembles that average properties and may hinder the understanding of fundamental aspects in the colloidal synthesis.

Atomic resolution analysis, which has emerged with aberration corrected instruments, has mainly provided analysis of few particles per sample. It is now, due to the Cc correction that offers superior resolutions in low voltages that the atom locations can be achieved on a routine basis to deliver new statistical data. We use this state-of-the-art instrumentation to understand growth processes and to correlate the atomic structure with properties. Here, I will focus on the formation of ternary compounds and will present understanding the doping and alloying processes for the formation of functional materials.