MRI: Acquisition of an ultrasmall-, small- and wide-angle x-ray scattering instrument for multidisciplinary advanced materials and soft matter research and education

在材料科学领域，尤其是软材料研究领域，最大的挑战是生成、定制和控制从纳米到微米的各种长度尺度的结构。这个问题需要复杂的表征技术，可以询问这些材料的内部结构。X射线散射是分析聚合物、液晶、胶体和生物材料等软物质中微小特征和周期性的一种基本技术。这一重大研究仪器奖支持购买用于测量超小、小和广角X射线散射的实验室光束线仪器。该仪器支持肯特州立大学、阿克伦大学、迈阿密大学和俄亥俄州东北部及更远地区的其他几所大学和研究中心的24个以上研究团队的研究。研究课题包括用于组织工程和了解多发性硬化症过程的材料，将挽救急救人员生命或检测疾病的传感器，以及帮助了解癌症过程的材料。其他研究利用该仪器对塑料回收和生物可再生塑料产生开创性的见解，这将有助于拯救地球，并产生结果，将促进我们对地下水污染所涉及的生物地球化学过程的理解。该项目的教育部分为新用户，特别是研究生提供了好处，并降低了跨学科边界或小型本科机构的研究人员的准入门槛，这些研究人员不是传统用户，但将受益于使用一线X射线散射设施。推广活动为K-12教师和本科生提供了新颖的STEM活动，让他们接触到令人兴奋的尖端材料和有助于分析这些材料的技术。为了研究软物质和活性物质、复合材料或混合物、纳米材料、矿物和生物地球化学过程的结构和结构演变，该项目支持购买一台实验室光束线仪器，用于测量超小、小和广角X射线散射。这些研究的中心是最近扩大的先进材料和液晶研究所(AMLCI)，其活跃的研究项目包括材料化学、物理和工程、活性物质、液晶和聚合物。这种全自动化和可扩展的仪器用于测量尺寸范围从大约0.15纳米(即原子之间的距离)到5微米(大约一个红细胞的宽度)的特征。研究包括分析聚合物、DNA、胶体、成群的细菌和有机晶体管的结构演变。此外，这一设施使软物质和纳米科学之间的积极合作和未来合作成为可能。该仪器配置具有X射线源、大型样品室和多种样品处理选项(加热、冷却、应力、应变、掠入射、湿度控制、偏光显微镜)，针对各种具有挑战性的样品和表征任务进行了优化。该仪器还结合了两个独特的功能--同步偏振光学显微镜以及X射线源和样品室之间的扩展空间，以便在未来允许更具挑战性的样品环境。最后，这些前沿样品处理选项，与布鲁克海文国家实验室和高级光源(伯克利实验室)的光束线科学家合作开发，使其成为面向未来的高度通用的X射线表征工具。该奖项反映了NSF的法定使命，并通过使用基金会的智力优势和更广泛的影响审查标准进行评估，被认为值得支持。

The grand challenge in the field of materials science, and soft materials research in particular, is to generate, customize, and control structure at the various length scales, ranging from nanometers to micrometers. The problem requires sophisticated characterization techniques that can interrogate the internal structure of these materials. X-ray scattering is a fundamental technique for analyzing the small features and periodicities in soft matter, such as polymers, liquid crystals, colloids and biomaterials. This Major Research Instrumentation award supports the acquisition of a laboratory beamline instrument for measuring ultrasmall-, small- and wide-angle x-ray scattering. This instrument supports the research of more than 24 research teams at Kent State University, the University of Akron, Miami University, and several other universities and research centers in Northeast Ohio and beyond. Research topics includes materials for tissue engineering and understanding processes of multiple sclerosis, sensors that will save the lives of first responders or detect disease as well as materials that help understand cancer processes. Other investigations utilize the instrument to produce groundbreaking insights into plastic recycling and biorenewable plastics that will help save the planet and generate results that will advance our understanding of biogeochemical processes involved in groundwater contamination. The educational component of this project provides benefits to new users, particularly graduate students, and lowers barriers to entry for researchers at interdisciplinary boundaries or small undergraduate institutions who are not traditional users but would benefit from access to a front-line x-ray scattering facility. Outreach activities provide novel STEM activities for K-12 teachers and undergraduate research students and expose them to exciting, cutting-edge materials and the techniques that help analyze them.To study the structure of and structural evolution in soft and active matter, composites or mixtures, nanomaterials, minerals, and biogeochemical processes, this project supports the acquisition of a laboratory beamline instrument for measuring ultrasmall-, small- and wide-angle x-ray scattering. At the center of these research thrusts is the recently expanded Advanced Materials and Liquid Crystal Institute (AMLCI) with active research programs in materials chemistry, physics and engineering, active matter, liquid crystals, and polymers. This fully automated and expandable instrument is used to measure features with size scales ranging from about 0.15 nm (i.e. distances between atoms) to 5 microns (about the width of a red blood cell). Investigations include the analysis of structure evolution in polymers, DNA, colloids, swarming bacteria, and organic transistors. Furthermore, this facility enables active and future collaborations at the interface between soft matter and nanoscience. The instrument configuration – featuring an x-ray source, a large sample compartment, and versatile sample manipulation options (heating, cooling, stress, strain, grazing incidence, controlled humidity, polarized microscopy) – is optimized for a wide variety of challenging samples and characterization tasks. The instrument also incorporates two unique features – simultaneous polarized optical microscopy as well as an expansion space between the x-ray source and the sample chamber to permit more challenging sample environments in the future. Finally, these frontier sample manipulation options, co-developed in cooperation with beamline scientists at Brookhaven National Labs and the Advanced Light Source (Berkeley Lab) make this a future-oriented and highly versatile x-ray characterization facility.This award reflects NSF's statutory mission and has been deemed worthy of support through evaluation using the Foundation's intellectual merit and broader impacts review criteria.