MRI: Acquisition of Environmental Scanning Electron Microscope (ESEM)

传统的电子显微镜在高真空下工作，因此不可能在不干燥的情况下检查生物材料或精细的无机材料（如凝胶），从而改变它们的结构。相比之下，环境扫描电镜允许在潮湿条件下和在宽的温度范围内对材料进行高分辨率成像。来自普林斯顿大学7个学术部门的研究人员计划进行的研究包括：（1）盐晶体在多孔材料中的生长（与建筑材料的劣化有关），（2）暴露于碳酸的水泥的腐蚀（3）氧化物夹杂物对燃料电池膜结构的影响;（4）在模拟火星表面的条件下细菌与矿物质的相互作用，（5）疲劳裂纹的生长和（6）神经元突触处的DNA共享。 除了研究之外，该仪器还将用于本科课程和各种K-12外展项目。其中包括教师研究经验（为当地公立学校教师），普林斯顿大学材料学院（为来自特伦顿和周边地区的代表性不足的高中生），和材料科学日（其中代表性不足的学生花一天时间在我们的实验室动手活动）。

Conventional electron microscopes operate under high vacuum, so it is not possible to examine biological materials, or delicate inorganic materials (such as gels), without drying them and thereby altering their structure. In contrast, an ESEM permits high resolution imaging of materials under moist conditions, and over a wide range of temperature. Researchers from 7 academic departments at Princeton plan studies including: (1) growth of salt crystals in porous materials (relevant to deterioration of building materials), (2) corrosion of cement exposed to carbonic acid (pertinent to geosequestration of CO2); (3) effects of oxide inclusions on the struc-ture of membranes used in fuel cells; (4) interaction of bacteria with minerals under conditions simulating the surface of Mars; (5) growth of fatigue cracks and (6) DNA sharing at neuron syn-apses. In addition to research, the instrument will be used in undergraduate courses and in a wide variety of K-12 outreach projects. These include Research Experience for Teachers (for local public school teachers), the Princeton University Materials Academy (for under-represented high school students from Trenton and surrounding districts), and Materials Science Days (where un-der-represented students spend the day in hands-on activities in our labs).