Byung Kim, professor in the Department of Physics, authored a research monograph titled “Self-Assembled Water Chains” which was published by Springer in 2023. The book focuses on the principles behind techniques for using the newly developed scanning probe microscopy to probe confined water at the molecular and atomic scale. It also introduces the cantilever-based optical interfacial force microscope that Kim invented. The research provides readers with substantially different views on nanoscopic water.
Many areas of research where water plays a key role in interfacial interactions can benefit from this research. These include: liquid-based nano- and bio-technologies, including nanofluidic devices, dip-pen nanolithography, nano-oxidation, water-based granular interactions, liquid-based nanolubricants, hydration layers in biopolymers, manipulation of biomolecules, protein folding, stability of colloid suspensions, enzyme activity, swelling in clays, development of bioactive surfaces, water columns and ion channeling in membranes, and improved performance of moving components in silicon-based micro-electro-mechanical system devices.