A National Research Facility for EPR Spectroscopy, 2022-2027

电子是构成所有材料的基础，它决定着分子键的结构以及化合物的稳定性和性质。因此，对分子中电子分布的研究为理解分子结构、功能和键合提供了一个直接的窗口。电子具有一种叫做“自旋”的基本特性，经典的描述是，当电子被置于磁场中时，它会表现得像条形磁铁。在许多材料中，所有的电子都是成对存在的，两个电子的自旋大小相等，方向相反。然而，在许多重要的材料中存在未配对的电子：这种材料被称为顺磁体。顺磁体在物理、生物和材料科学中无处不在，例如自由基、金属离子、生物系统中的活性位点或固体中的缺陷，这些不成对的电子在决定这些材料的电子、磁性和（生物）化学行为方面至关重要。未配对电子可以是材料固有的，也可以是外部的，例如由化学掺杂或标记，或由电化学或光学激发引起的。研究顺磁性材料最有力的方法是电子顺磁共振（EPR）光谱学，也称为电子自旋共振（ESR），它是磁共振技术范围的一部分，还包括磁共振成像（MRI）和核磁共振（NMR）。EPR直接探测未配对电子所处的环境，得到电子所处的化学环境的信息。最先进的EPR需要大量的仪器，包括连续波和脉冲技术（在微波的应用方式和信号的检测方式上有所不同），以及可变的磁场和温度状态，从而可以访问顺磁体上的不同信息内容。EPR的国家研究设施（NRF）为英国学术界提供了广泛获得基础设施、专业知识和培训的经济有效的方法。NRF将为研究人员的项目提供支持，从最初的询问开始，在设计、计划和成本实验方面提供帮助，到通过实践经验和培训课程进行培训，支持进行实验，以及帮助数据分析、建模和解释的建议和专业知识。

Electrons are fundamental to the composition of all materials, determining the structure of molecular bonds and the stability and properties of compounds. The study of the electronic distribution in molecules therefore provides a direct window into understanding molecular structure, function and bonding. Electrons possess a fundamental property called "spin", which, pictured classically causes the electron to behave as a bar-magnet when placed in a magnetic field. In many materials all electrons are present in pairs, with the spin on the two electrons being equal and opposite. However, in many important materials there are unpaired electrons: such materials are called paramagnets. Paramagnets are ubiquitous across physical, biological and materials sciences, for example in free-radicals, metal ions, active sites in biological systems, or defects in solids, and these unpaired electrons are critical in dictating the electronic, magnetic and (bio)chemical behaviour of such materials. Unpaired electrons can be intrinsic to the material or extrinsic, induced by, for example, chemical doping or labelling, or by electrochemical or optical excitation.The most powerful method to study paramagnetic materials is Electron Paramagnetic Resonance (EPR) spectroscopy, also known as Electron Spin Resonance (ESR), part of the magnetic resonance range of techniques that also includes Magnetic Resonance Imaging (MRI) and Nuclear Magnetic Resonance (NMR). EPR directly probes the environment of the unpaired electrons, yielding information on the chemical environment in which the electron is present. State-of-the-art EPR requires substantial instrumentation, including continuous wave and pulsed techniques (differing in how microwaves are applied, and how the signal is detected), and variable magnetic field and temperature regimes, giving access to different information content on the paramagnet. A National Research Facility (NRF) for EPR gives a cost-effective method for wide access to infrastructure, expertise and training to the UK academic community. The NRF will support researchers in their projects from first enquiry, where assistance can be provided to design, plan and cost experiments into grant applications, through to training via hands-on experience and training courses, support to perform experiments, and advice and expertise to aid data analysis, modelling and interpretation.