Plastic Films, Fabrics, Nano Particles, and Butterfly Wings: Novel, “Outside the Box”, Uses For UV/Vis/NIR Integrating Spheres

This webcast will consist of two parts. Part 1 will start off with a basic introduction to UV/Vis/NIR integrating spheres.

We will then consider samples, such as plastic films and colored Spectralon®, that illustrate how sphere diameter can impact spectral accuracy in both reflectance and scatter transmission measurements. This section will conclude with a look at how sample surface texture and sample placement against the sphere’s port, can result in unusual artifacts in the spectra.

Part 2 will discuss two novel integrating sphere applications within the rapidly growing technology field of nanomaterials.

Carbon nanotubes constitute a large arena of products where UV/Vis/NIR spectroscopy, employing an integrating sphere, is functional in both research and quality control. The webcast will conclude with a detailed look at the UV/Vis/NIR spectroscopy of butterfly wings. The colors on most butterfly wings do not arise from either dyes or pigments, but from nanostructures that physically diffract, rather than absorb light. As such, they represent an interesting platform to investigate the potential for spectroscopic materials characterization of nanostructures attached to surfaces.

Presenter: Jeffrey L. Taylor, Ph.D. (Molecular Spectroscopy Guru, Industry Expert With Over 35 Years of Experience)

Dr. Jeffrey L. Taylor received his Bachelor of Science degree from Georgia College and State University with dual majors in Physiology and Organic Chemistry. He obtained a Master of Science degree from the University of Georgia in Toxicology and later a Doctor of Philosophy degree from the same school in Biochemistry and Spectroscopy.

He has spent his career of over 35 years with major spectroscopy instruments manufacturers, mainly working as Field Product Specialist and Senior Staff Scientist. Areas of expertise include technical support of sales, customer support/training, applications design and development, software specification/evaluation, and instrumental design and evaluation. He is the author of numerous application notes, conference presentations and webcasts, and holder of several patents.

Dr. Taylor, although retired, maintains his desire to contribute to the field. He is currently a consultant for Shimadzu Scientific Instruments to assist with sales support, application support and development of web-based educational resources.

Presenter: Sudhir Dahal, Ph.D. (Product Manager - Molecular Spectroscopy, Shimadzu Scientific Instruments)

Sudhir Dahal is Product Manager of Molecular Spectroscopy group at Shimadzu Scientific Instruments, USA. He joined the company after obtaining his PhD from University of Maryland Baltimore County (UMBC), where he researched and collaborated on developing novel spectroscopy-based technique for brain tumor cell detection. At Shimadzu Scientific Instruments, he and his group are responsible for overall sales support of molecular spectroscopy products in North America, Central America and parts of South America. The products include UV-Vis-NIR, FTIR, Fluorescence spectrophotometers and accessories.

His everyday responsibilities include, but are not limited to, teaching classes to sales/technical support engineers and customers, producing scientific literatures, researching new products and applications, representing Shimadzu at conferences and promoting the products through various marketing campaigns.