This award from the Instrumentation for Materials Research program support will allow Oregon State University to purchase a new X-ray detection system that will be utilized for the determination of atomic-level structures of new high-technology materials as well as small molecules of relevance in biology and catalysis. The instrumentation comprises an area detector and temperature-control devices for examining structures over the temperature range of 77 to 1273 K. Such variable-temperature measurements provide a means for establishing relationships between atomic-level structures and bulk physical properties, such as thermal expansion, electrical conductivity, and laser action. By extension, such relationships establish the framework for invention and development of new types of microelectronic and optical devices. Temperature control can also be important for establishing the structures of small molecules that might be thermally unstable or only weakly efficient in scattering an X-ray beam. The new system also has considerable value in education. Because an overall view of a diffraction pattern is available from the area detector, unlike in serial systems, graduate students can much more readily absorb the concepts of diffraction and crystallography, leading to more productive classroom and research experiences. The high throughput of the system also allows an extension of the education experience to students involved in a number of materials-research collaborative programs, to undergraduates both at OSU and neighboring institutions, and to others beyond the University community. Altogether, these new opportunities will provide students with robust foundations for pursuing their career objectives.
This award from the Instrumentation for Materials Research program support Oregon State University with the purchase a new X-ray detection system. The instrumentation will be used to support research and education activities in the areas of solid-state inorganic materials and small-molecule synthesis. The proposed instrument cluster comprises a CCD area detector with four-circle goniometer, low-temperature and high-temperature devices, and a fiber-optic collimator. This cluster will provide a means to broaden and more fully integrate the research and education missions of the University in the area of structure determination. The area detector makes possible the ready identification of supercells and incommensurate structures, short data-collection times and high throughput, and much improved avenues for teaching concepts in diffraction and crystallography. Coupling the high throughput of the area detector with low- and high-temperature devices provides opportunities in variable-temperature measurements that are currently unavailable. Structures of inorganic materials can be determined at both low and high temperatures to establish relationships between crystal structure and thermal-expansion, electrical, or optical properties, while weakly diffracting or thermally unstable small molecules can be analyzed at low temperatures to obtain useful structural information. Further, local undergraduate education institutions and companies will have access to this instrument through collaborative projects.
