MRI: Acquisition of a Multi-Beam SEM/FIB for Multidisciplinary Materials Study and Training

Jackson State University, Jackson MS

Investigators

Abstract

The multi-beam scanning electron microscope (SEM) coupled with a focused ion beam (FIB) has the capability to cut materials and to provide nano-scale images with very high resolution. Acquisition of this instrumentation will enable fundamental multidisciplinary research at Jackson State University (JSU) by researchers from civil engineering, electrical engineering, chemistry, biology, material science, and physics. Key research activities include efforts to advance knowledge on 1/ new microbial technologies to strengthen soils to reduce damage from earthquakes 2/novel approaches to treat the multi-drug-resistant bacteria Salmonella with magnetic nanoparticles and 3/ enhanced fuel cell development, which reduces pollution. The instrumentation will become a key element of JSU's research infrastructure. The SEM/FIB will be used in undergraduate and graduate courses and will promote partnerships and collaborative activities with surrounding universities and national engineering research centers. This advanced SEM/FIB instrumentation has a milling depth up to 100nm, with image resolutions of 2.5 nm. This capability will allow geotechnical engineering researchers to determine the 3D micro- and nano-scale structure of bio-mediated soil materials, enabling discovery of microbial induced calcite precipitation not visible from the surface. Researchers will monitor the change in micro-structural features of stratified silt-sand-gravel mixtures after dynamic triaxial tests, improving understanding of the liquefaction behavior of stratified contractive soil composites. The SEM/FIB will be used to characterize the interfacial bonding between geopolymer composites and reinforcing steel coated with enamel under extreme environmental conditions. The SEM/FIB will allow chemistry researchers to characterize the 3D structure of bacteria and the interaction between bacteria and nanoparticles with hybrid graphene oxide for label-free biosensing. Researchers in biology will use the equipment to study the health effects of engineered nanomaterials. Physicists, electrical engineers, and material scientists will use the SEM/FIB to study the 3D internal morphology and related mass/charge transport behavior of fuel cell components to develop a new generation of fuel cell.