An Introduction to Nonlinear Spectroscopies for Interfacial Studies

Surface-specific nonlinear spectroscopies, such as second-harmonic and sum-frequency generation (SHG and SFG), are powerful optical tools that can probe the chemical and physical properties of interfaces. This webinar will provide a general overview of these methods in a manner that will be of interest to anyone studying liquid interfaces and nanoparticle surfaces, as well as anyone just interested in the unique and wonderful world of nonlinear spectroscopy. We will touch on the historical development of SHG and SFG spectroscopy, the molecular origins of SHG and SFG signals, the instrumentation required to successfully implement these experiments in an optics lab, and a small sampling of the many forms of these spectroscopies in recent literature.