This EAR/Instrumentation and Facilities grant supports acquisition of a bench top low energy powder x-ray diffractometer (XRD) for phase identification of fine grained natural and synthetic materials and crystallographic structure characterization. Specific research applications will include studies of: 1) acid-mine drainage and corrosion affiliated biomineralization processes; 2) geomicrobiological processed in kart environments; and 3) bone apatite biomineralization processes. The requested XRD will replace a Phillips 3100 XRPD system that has been in service in The University of Akron?s (UA) Department of Geology and Environmental Science (GES) since 1985 and present safety concerns for student opertion. The instrument would support research and research training across multiple departments at the University of Akron and would serve as a regional x-ray characterization facility.
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Funds from this project were used to purchase a Rigaku Ultima IV X-ray Diffraction (XRD) System for the Department of Geosciences at The University of Akron, which will be used to identify and characterize solid materials, particularly minerals when it is used in the geological sciences. As such, XRD systems are among the most widely used instruments in geology departments at colleges and universities. The unit that we purchased through this project will be used even more broadly. For instance, the principal investigators have used and will continue to use the XRD system for the following projects: 1) Studies to determine the activities of microorganisms (and the minerals that they form) in environments that are impacted by acid mine drainage that emerges from abandoned coal mines in the Appalachian region of the US. 2) Studies to determine how microorganisms might influence the corrosion of steel and other metals. 3) Studies to determine how microorganisms alter minerals in ways that may lead to the formation of caves. 4) Studies to determine the chemical processes that are involved in bone development. 5) Studies to determine how interactions between minerals and membranes may have influenced the development of life on Earth. This XRD instrument will support several other researchers at The University of Akron, including users from the Departments of Civil Engineering and Chemical and Biomolecular Engineering, in addition to the principal investigators home departments of Geosciences, Biology, and Polymer Science. The XRD instrument will be used in as many as six courses in The University of Akron Department of Geosciences, so that students will receive training the identification and characterization of minerals.
