Shen Jialiang, Noh Byung-Il, Chen Pengyu, Dai Siyuan
Materials Research and Education Center Department of Mechanical Engineering Auburn University Auburn Alabama 36849 USA.
Small Sci. 2024 Sep 26;4(11):2400297. doi: 10.1002/smsc.202400297. eCollection 2024 Nov.
The mid-infrared with a characteristic wavelength of 3-20 μm is important for a wealth of technologies. In particular, mid-infrared spectroscopy can reveal material composition and structure information by fingerprinting chemical bonds' infrared resonances. Despite these merits, state-of-the-art mid-infrared techniques are spatially limited above tens of micrometers due to the fundamental diffraction law. Herein, recent progress in the scanning probe nanoscale infrared characterization of biochemical materials and natural specimens beyond this spatial limitation is reviewed. By leveraging the strong tip-sample local interactions, scanning probe nano-infrared methods probe nanoscale optical and mechanical responses to disclose material composition, heterogeneity, orientation, fine structure, and phase transitions at unprecedented length scales. These advances, therefore, revolutionize the understanding of a broad range of biochemical and natural materials and offer new material manipulation and engineering opportunities close to the ultimate length scales of fundamental physical, chemical, and biological processes.
特征波长为3 - 20微米的中红外光对众多技术而言至关重要。特别是，中红外光谱能够通过对化学键的红外共振进行指纹识别来揭示材料的成分和结构信息。尽管有这些优点，但由于基本衍射定律，最先进的中红外技术在空间上局限于几十微米以上。在此，本文综述了超越这种空间限制的生化材料和天然标本的扫描探针纳米级红外表征方面的最新进展。通过利用强烈的针尖 - 样品局部相互作用，扫描探针纳米红外方法探测纳米级光学和机械响应，以前所未有的长度尺度揭示材料成分、异质性、取向、精细结构和相变。因此，这些进展彻底改变了对广泛的生化和天然材料的理解，并提供了接近基本物理、化学和生物过程最终长度尺度的新材料操控和工程机会。
