Student: Louis Prahl (Reed College)

Mentor: David Shelton

Search for Ferroelectric Domain Structures in Carbohydrate Glasses Using Atomic Force Microscopy

D-glucose was studied as a possible candidate for ferroelectric domain imaging using an Atomic Force Microscope (AFM). The large dipole moment of carbohydrates may show localized ferroelectric domain formation in liquid phase. Samples were heated at their melting point on glass slides and then left to cool to room temperature in a dessicator. Differential Thermal Analysis (DTA) was used to test the effectiveness of this method, and it was found that over preparation created samples with 41% crystallinity, where bot a glass transitino and sharp melting peak were observed. An assessment of the effect of cooling rate on glass formation was conducted using a Diffferential Scanning Calorimeter (DSC). Surface images of a ferroelectric ceramic and the surface of an amorphous glucose sample were taken using AFM in Topography Mode. Glucose turned out not to exhibit ferroelectric domain structures, but these techniques could be used to study other organic glass-forming liquids.