Acquisition of a High Resolution Scanning Electron Microscope for Research and Education in Nanochemistry

University Of North Dakota Main Campus, Grand Forks ND

Investigators

Abstract

With support from the Chemistry Research Instrumentation and Facilities: Multiuser program (CRIF:MU), the Department of Chemistry at the University of North Dakota will acquire a cyber-enabled high resolution scanning electron microscope (SEM). The University has designated nanotechnology as a focus for research and the microscope will be used by investigators at the University of North Dakota and at North Dakota tribal colleges to enhance nanochemistry research and education. Research activities that will be enabled by the new instrumentation include the design of new nanomaterials, such as nanotubes, nanowires, fluorescent nanoparticles, metal-modified silica nanoparticles and polymer-based nanocatalysts, and the characterization of these nanomaterials. Fundamental studies on the formation and characterization of secondary organic aerosols will provide significant information regarding the role of these substances in environmental pollution. A scanning electron microscope probes a material by scanning it with a beam of electrons that interact with surface atoms to produce signals that contain high resolution images of the surface structure. Since the nanoparticles to be investigated in these studies can be as small as several nanometers in diameter, a high resolution SEM is an important tool for investigating their structures. This level of detail is indispensable in designing and characterizing new nanomaterials. The infrastructure made available with this grant will be used in teaching and training a broad range of young scientists, including significant numbers of Native American scientists, in important, cutting-edge, experimental methods.