MRI: Acquisition of an FEI Versa 3D dual-beam FIB/SEM for Catalysis and Materials Research

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Abstract#1229645Subramaniam, BalaThe proposed equipment will provide a unique, state of-the-art electron microscopy infrastructure that would allow researchers to directly probe the surface/interfacial properties and surface dynamics of materials at nanometer length scales. These facilities will enable a deeper fundamental understanding essential to developing novel functional materials for catalysis and energy applications.The major users include those from the Center for Environmentally Beneficial Catalysis (CEBC), the Kansas Center for Solar Energy Research (CSER), and their nationwide academic/industry collaborators. Additionally, many other researchers in engineering, geology and biological sciences will benefit from these facilities. CEBC researchers are addressing the major challenges facing the sustainable manufacture of fuels and chemicals from traditional and renewable feedstocks. The design of active, selective and stable catalysts is a key challenge in this regard. Examples of recent innovations include versatile large-pore ordered mesoporous catalyst supports, nanometer size metal catalysts tethered to supports by organic and inorganic anchors that show enhanced activity for a variety of chemical transformations, and bimetallic catalysis for hydrogenolysis of biomass-derived feedstocks. The proposed instrumentation will enable in situ characterizations of the catalytic metal and surface reactant species at nanometer level resolution.