MRI: Acquisition of a modern powder X-ray diffractometer with in situ capabilities

该奖项由主要研究仪器（MRI）和化学研究仪器（CRIF）项目支持。马萨诸塞大学阿默斯特分校的Kevin Kittilstved教授及其同事Dhandapani Venkataraman、Wei Fan和Friederike Jentoft获得了粉末x射线衍射仪的支持。粉末x射线衍射仪用x射线探测固体材料，以揭示其内部成分和结构。使用该仪器进行的成功研究使研究人员能够合成具有促进社会向可持续燃料和能源过渡潜力的新材料。该衍射仪扩展了马萨诸塞州西部五所大学联盟的材料结构表征能力。除了本土院校，该联盟还包括霍利奥克山学院、阿默斯特学院、汉普郡学院和史密斯学院。该仪器被整合到马萨诸塞大学阿默斯特分校的本科和研究生课程中。该仪器还被整合到几个面向地区学校教师、学生及其家长的外展项目中。衍射仪加强了各级的研究和教育。它特别有助于研究氧空位在钛酸锶散装粉末和独立纳米晶体中调节电荷中性的作用，以及确定带有特定金属掺杂的金属-硫族化物分子簇的结构。该仪器还用于分析金属卤化物钙钛矿与有机阳离子离子传输的结构变化，并研究金属碳化物催化剂的相变。光谱仪有助于理解沸石合成过程中的结晶过程；研究氧化物电催化剂运行过程中的结构变化，在超嗜热微生物中寻找纳米氧化铁相。

This award is supported by the Major Research Instrumentation (MRI) and the Chemistry Research Instrumentation (CRIF) programs. Professor Kevin Kittilstved from the University of Massachusetts Amherst and colleagues Dhandapani Venkataraman, Wei Fan and Friederike Jentoft are supported for the acquistion of a powder X-ray diffractometer. A powder X-ray diffractometer probes solid materials with X-rays to reveal its internal composition and structure. Successful research conducted with this instrument enables investigators to synthesize new materials with potential to promote society's transition to sustainable fuels and energy. This diffractometer expands the materials structural characterization capabilities in the Five College Consortium in Western Massachusetts. Besides the home institution, the consortium includes Mt. Holyoke College, Amherst College, Hampshire College and Smith College. The instrument is being integrated into the undergraduate and graduate curriculum at U Mass Amherst. The instrument is also being integrated with several outreach programs with area school teachers, students, and their parents.The diffractometer enhances research and education at all levels. It especially aids in studies of the role that oxygen vacancies play in regulating charge neutrality in strontium titanate bulk powders and free-standing nanocrystals and determining the structures of molecular metal-chalcogenide clusters with specific metal dopants. The instrumentation is also used for analyzing structural changes that accompany ion transport in metal halide perovskites with organic cations and investigating phase transitions in metal carbide catalysts. The spectrometer facilitates understanding crystallization processes during zeolite synthesis; studying structural changes during the operation of oxide electrocatalysts and searching for nanophase iron oxide phases within hyperthermophilic microbes.