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Details of Grant 

EPSRC Reference: GR/R91953/01
Title: Mass-selected electrospray deposition of complex molecules in UHV
Principal Investigator: O'Shea, Dr JN
Other Investigators:
Researcher Co-Investigators:
Project Partners:
Department: Sch of Physics & Astronomy
Organisation: University of Nottingham
Scheme: Fast Stream
Starts: 01 October 2002 Ends: 30 September 2005 Value (£): 60,568
EPSRC Research Topic Classifications:
Chemical Structure Surfaces & Interfaces
EPSRC Industrial Sector Classifications:
Electronics Pharmaceuticals and Biotechnology
Related Grants:
Panel History:  
Summary on Grant Application Form
The ability to deposit complex molecules under UHV conditions will have a profound effect on many areas from nanotechnology to biosensors. The UHV environment ensures not only the purity of the system but facilitates the use of techniques that access the electronic, geometric and bonding structure down to the atomic and molecular scale. Unfortunately, the range of molecules that cannot be thermally evaporated in UHV due to their low vapour pressure and thermal instability far outnumbers those that can. We propose to design and construct a portable UHV molecular source that can deposit in-situ a wide range of complex molecules directly from solution. The device, based on a proven technique in mass-spectrometry will produce a beam of molecular ions by electrospraying a solution from a capillary held at high potential, followed by desolvation in helium, quadrupole mass-selection and focussing onto a surface in UHV. We will demonstrate the capabilities of the source in two different UHV applications: a molecular solar cell inorganic dye complex on titanium dioxide prepared in-situ for analysis using PES, and a non-volatile biological polypeptide molecule on a silicon surface prepared in-situ for analysis of the intermolecular interactions using STM & AFM.
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Organisation Website: http://www.nottingham.ac.uk