title: Single-Molecule Investigations of Morphology and Mass Transport Dynamics in Nanostructured Materials.
abstract: Nanostructured materials such as mesoporous metal oxides and phase-separated block copolymers form the basis for new monolith, membrane, and thin film technologies having applications in energy storage, chemical catalysis, and separations. Mass transport plays an integral role in governing the application-specific performance characteristics of many such materials. The majority of methods employed in their characterization provide only ensemble data, often masking the nanoscale, molecular-level details of materials morphology and mass transport. Single-molecule fluorescence methods offer direct routes to probing these characteristics on a single-molecule/single-nanostructure basis. This article provides a review of single-molecule studies focused on measurements of anisotropic diffusion, adsorption, partitioning, and confinement in nanostructured materials. Experimental methods covered include confocal and wide-field fluorescence microscopy. The results obtained promise to deepen our understanding of mass transport mechanisms in nanostructures, thus aiding in the realization of advanced materials systems.
authors.affiliation: Department of Chemistry, Kansas State University, Manhattan, Kansas 66506-0401; email: higgins@ksu.edu , ito@ksu.edu.
authors.forename: Daniel A
authors.initials: DA
authors.lastname: Higgins
authors.forename: Seok Chan
authors.initials: SC
authors.lastname: Park
authors.forename: Khanh-Hoa
authors.initials: KH
authors.lastname: Tran-Ba
authors.forename: Takashi
authors.initials: T
authors.lastname: Ito
mesh_terms: D008856:Microscopy, Fluorescence / Q000379:methods*; D049329:Nanostructures / Q000737:chemistry*; D036103:Nanotechnology / Q000379:methods*; D011108:Polymers / Q000737:chemistry*
chemical_list: D011108:Polymers
keywords: fluorescence correlation spectroscopy; liquid crystal mesophases; mass transport mechanisms; nanoporous materials; phase-separated block copolymers; single-molecule tracking