MRI: Acquisition of Small/Wide-Angle and Non-Ambient X-Ray Diffraction Packages for Research and Education in Energy and Environmental Sustainability

x射线衍射技术对于薄膜和纳米材料等功能材料的非破坏性、高通量微观结构分析至关重要，可以实现清洁能源生产、减少污染和保护公众健康的材料创新。该项目旨在提高麻省大学洛厄尔分校x射线衍射系统的能力，以满足化学、物理、工程和健康科学等相关领域广泛的校内外用户的研究和开发需求。系统升级将利用马萨诸塞大学洛厄尔分校在塑料、聚合物科学、纳米技术和生物医学方面的历史优势，同时为该地区带来独特的能力。升级后的x射线衍射仪将作为麻省大学洛厄尔分校核心研究设施的共享仪器，为内部和外部研究合作以及社区外展活动提供机会。研究生和本科生直接使用设备将促进先进的教育和研究培训。x射线衍射技术和应用将被纳入工程和科学学院的研究生和本科生课程。此外，该仪器将被整合到由马萨诸塞大学洛厄尔分校核心研究设施组织的完善的K-12外展项目中，并将被参加马萨诸塞大学洛厄尔分校本科研究机会、合作项目和专业合作项目的学生使用。麻省大学洛厄尔分校寻求升级最先进的多功能x射线衍射系统，以支持绿色电子，环境可持续聚合物，催化金属纳米结构和水生环境中的活性矿物等跨学科合作研究，所有这些都是能源和环境可持续性相关且及时的主题。通过该项目取得的发现将促进环境可持续材料的合成和加工、清洁能源的产生以及水和土壤污染的减少方面的前沿研究。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。

X-ray diffraction techniques are essential for nondestructive, high-throughput microstructural analysis of functional materials such as thin films and nanomaterials to enable material innovations for clean energy production, pollution abatement, and public health protection. This project aims at enhancing the capabilities of UMass Lowell’s X-ray diffraction system to serve the research and development needs of a broad portfolio of on- and off-campus users in the relevant areas of chemical, physical, engineering, and health sciences. The system upgrades will leverage historical strengths of UMass Lowell in plastics, polymer science, nanotechnology, and biomedicine while bringing unique capabilities to the region. The upgraded X-ray diffractometer will be made available as a shared instrument within UMass Lowell’s Core Research Facilities, providing opportunities for internal and external research collaborations as well as community outreach activities. Direct access to the equipment by graduate and undergraduate students will facilitate advanced education and research training. X-ray diffraction techniques and applications will be incorporated into several graduate and undergraduate courses in the Colleges of Engineering and Sciences. Furthermore, the instrument will be integrated into well-established K–12 outreach programs organized by UMass Lowell’s Core Research Facilities and will be used by students participating in UMass Lowell’s undergraduate research opportunities, collaborations programs, and professional co-op programs. UMass Lowell seeks to upgrade a state-of-the-art multifunctional X-ray diffraction system to support interdisciplinary collaborative research in green electronics, environmentally sustainable polymers, catalytic metallic nanostructures, and reactive minerals in the aquatic environment, among others, all of which are relevant and timely topics in energy and environmental sustainability. Discoveries enabled through this project will facilitate cutting-edge research in the synthesis and processing of environmentally sustainable materials, generation of clean energy, and pollution abatement in water and soil.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.