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

材料科学领域，特别是软材料研究领域的巨大挑战是生成、定制和控制各种长度尺度（从纳米到微米）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的微小特征和周期性的基本技术。该主要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，迈阿密大学以及俄亥俄州东北部及其他地区的其他几所大学和研究中心的超过24个研究团队的研究。研究课题包括用于组织工程和理解多发性硬化症过程的材料，将拯救急救人员生命或检测疾病的传感器，以及有助于理解癌症过程的材料。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，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的研究人员或小型本科机构的进入门槛，这些研究人员不是传统用户，但将受益于获得一线x射线散射设施。拓展活动为K-12教师和本科生提供新颖的STEM活动，让他们接触到令人兴奋的前沿材料和有助于分析这些材料的技术。为了研究软质和活性物质、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化，本项目支持购置一台实验室光束线仪器，用于测量超小角、小角和广角x射线散射。这些研究重点的中心是最近扩建的先进材料和液晶研究所（AMLCI），该研究所在材料化学、物理和工程、活性物质、液晶和聚合物方面开展了积极的研究项目。这种全自动可扩展仪器用于测量尺寸范围从0.15纳米（即原子之间的距离）到5微米（约红细胞的宽度）的特征。研究包括分析聚合物、DNA、胶体、群集细菌和有机晶体管的结构演变。此外，该设施使软物质和纳米科学之间的积极和未来的合作成为可能。仪器配置-具有x射线源，大样品室和多功能样品操作选项（加热，冷却，应力，应变，掠入射，湿度控制，偏振显微镜）-针对各种具有挑战性的样品和表征任务进行了优化。该仪器还具有两个独特的功能-同时偏振光学显微镜以及x射线源和样品室之间的扩展空间，以允许未来更具挑战性的样品环境。最后，与布鲁克海文国家实验室和先进光源（伯克利实验室）的光束线科学家合作开发的这些前沿样品操作选项使其成为面向未来且高度通用的x射线表征设施。该奖项反映了美国国家科学基金会的法定使命，并通过使用基金会的知识价值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.