The results can enhance the design of customized nanostructures in the study of cosmic dust formation and remote sensing of atmospheric pollutants. Nanoparticles and aerosols play an important role in drug delivery systems, atmospheric processes and interstellar chemistry.
UBC chemists have found that the optical properties of non-conducting nanostructures can be determined based on nanoparticles. The results were published in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences.
UBC researcher, Thomas Preston stated that the model will help in designing better nano-material with the desired properties.
Ruth Signorell, UBC professor and co-author of the research, stated that the findings can help determine the properties of complex particles, which consist of a core and cavity structure, and also help understand the fusion of individual fragments of the structure.
The Canada Foundation for Innovation and the Natural Sciences and Engineering Research Council of Canada supported the research.