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Dr. Richard Taylor

  • Postdoctoral Fellow
  • Room: A.3.242
  • Telephone: +49 9131 7133352
  • E-mail

I am interested in the potential of interferometric scattering microscopy to uncover the hidden dynamics of biology at the nanoscale, in particular, in exploring what we can learn about membrane organization and cellular function. I am also excited to develop nanofluidic tools to facilitate novel investigations into single-cell biology via advanced optical microscopies.

2010

A scanning tunnelling microscopy investigation of gold island formation from an octanethiol self-assembled monolayer on Au(111)

Richard W. Taylor, Nicholas Torr, Zhao Huang, Fangsen Li, Quanmin Guo

Surface Science 604 165-170 (2010) | Journal

The release of gold atoms from an octanethiol monolayer on Au(111) and the formation of single-layer-high gold islands were studied using scanning tunnelling microscopy (STM) in air. When the bias voltage between the STM tip and the sample exceeds the threshold for water electrolysis, reactive desorption of thiol molecules occurs, resulting in the release of gold adatoms. The number of atoms released was quantified as a function of tip current exposure under both positive and negative bias conditions. Tip-induced ripening of gold islands and, notably, tip-induced disintegration of small islands were observed.

I was born in the United Kingdom where I completed my graduate studies, gaining a Masters (1st, Hons) in Physics from the University of Birmingham in 2009. Thereafter I completed my doctoral studies in 2013 in the Nanophotonics group of Prof. Jeremy J. Baumberg at the University of Cambridge. The subject of my doctoral work was ‘On the sub-nm plasmonics of gold nanoparticles clusters’, which led to a patent for ‘Plasmonic junctions for surface-enhanced spectroscopy’. In 2013 I joined the group of Prof. Sandoghdar to develop interferometric scattering microscopy for application to live cells, becoming a Humboldt Postdoctoral fellow in 2015. In addition to research activities, I also enjoy aiding efforts for scientific outreach, and I also co-organised the first international workshop on interferometric scattering microscopy in 2020.

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