This award to the University of Massachusetts at Amherst is for the acquisition of a 200kV, field emission gun, in-column energy filtered transmission electron microscope (FEG-EFTEM). Energy filtering enables superior image contrast by zero-loss filtering and element specific imaging, representing the state-of-the-art in electron microscopy characterization. The hardware and software components of the proposed FEG-EFTEM include electron tomography capabilities for 3D-reconstruction of nanoscale structures. Moreover, the instrument includes capabilities for examining cryogenically prepared samples from aqueous solution, appealing for biologically-derived nanostructures and synthetic soft materials in water. The FEG-EFTEM will impact a broad range of researchers at UMass and partner institutions, and will be available broadly for U.S. and international researchers in numerous disciplines, including polymers, nanocomposites, soft materials, biology, and related topics. Graduate, undergraduate, and postdoctoral researchers at UMass, representing well over 30 different research groups, will use the FEG-EFTEM in numerous projects, including: characterizing ordered block copolymers as templates for nanostructured materials; imaging polymer aggregation and phase behavior directly in non-volatile ionic liquids; studying helical morphologies of polymer nanorods and wires; understanding phase separation in conjugated polymers and nanocomposites for photovoltaics; imaging bacterial-based fuel cells; and direct imaging of DNA replication.
The new FEG-EFTEM will have extensive impact across numerous communities. The instrument will be accessible broadly to researchers across the UMass campus, as well as to the local undergraduate Colleges, including all-women's Mt Holyoke and Smith Colleges, and to partner institutions such as Howard University and the University of Puerto Rico - Rio Piedras. Through the NSF-funded Materials Research Facilities Network (MRFN), the instrument will be accessible to researchers across the U.S., significantly enhancing accessible TEM capabilities of the MRFN. The instrument will enhance education greatly by serving as a central teaching tool through its integration into core courses in Polymer Characterization and Polymer Morphology, while allowing expansion of curricula with the introduction of a graduate course in Electron Microscopy with extensive hands-on training on the FEG-EFTEM. Moreover, the FEG-EFTEM will benefit K-12 and Research Experience for Teachers (RET) outreach activities of various NSF and DOE centers at UMass, with electron tomography for 3D-image reconstruction providing an engaging and instructive view of materials that is suitable for integration into classroom instruction for young students. ASPIRE (A Student-led Program In Research and Education), which brings high school students to campus on Saturdays for a laboratory-based program on polymers, will showcase the 3D-tomographic capabilities of the FEG-EFTEM, thus greatly enhancing the long standing electron microscopy unit for this program.
