OPTICAL PROPERTIES AND SPECTROSCOPY OF NANOMATERIALS

by ZHANG JIN ZHONG

Optical properties are among the most fascinating and useful properties of nanomaterials and have been extensively studied using a variety of optical spectroscopic techniques. A basic understanding of the optical properties and related spectroscopic techniques is essential for anyone who is interested in learning about nanomaterials of semiconductors, insulators or metal. This is partly because optical properties are intimately related to other properties and functionalities (e.g. electronic, magnetic, and thermal) that are of fundamental importance to many technological applications, such as energy conversion, chemical analysis, biomedicine, optoelectronics, communication, and radiation detection.Intentionally designed for upper-level undergraduate students and beginning graduate students with some basic knowledge of quantum mechanics, this book provides the first systematic coverage of optical properties and spectroscopic techniques of nanomaterials.

383 pages, Hardcover

First published July 21, 2009

Reviews

[S · Rating 5 out of 5]

Zhang's book entitled "Optical Properties and Spectroscopy of Nanomaterials" covers many traditional areas of chemistry, condensed matter physics, and material science. Zhang's presentation also combines phenomenological description and first principles of quantum mechanics. Examples are the Beer-Lambert law that we see in both analytical and physical chemistry texts, the dipole-allowed electronic state transitions (see, e.g. D.A. McQuarrie, "Statistical Mechanics"), infra-red and Raman spectroscopy (see, e.g. E. J. Heller, "The Semiclassical Way to Dynamics and Spectroscopy), time-resolved spectroscopy by pump-probe, X-ray diffraction, electron microscopy, nuclear and magnetic resonance and electron spin resonance, Fermi-Dirac statistics, energy band, electronic structure theory (linear combination of atomic orbitals to form molecular orbitals, see, e.g. I.N. Levine, "Quantum Chemistry), and Chapter 4 is on "Synthesis and Fabrication of Nanomaterials". This book will help graduate students interested in nanomaterials find research topics for dissertation study and future academic and industry job search. The figures and spectra are printed in color and the book also provides many references for further study.