The Time Of flight Isotopic and elemental Concentration (TOPIC) Facility for nano- to micrometer scale analysis of Earth and anthropogenic materials

用于地球和人类材料纳米至微米级分析的飞行时间同位素和元素浓度 (TOPIC) 设施

• 批准号: NE/T008814/1
• 负责人: Gavin Foster
• 金额: $ 38.23万
• 依托单位: University of Southampton
• 依托单位国家: 英国
• 项目类别: Research Grant
• 财政年份: 2019
• 资助国家: 英国
• 起止时间: 2019 至 无数据
• 项目状态: 已结题
• 来源: https://gtr.ukri.org/projects?ref=NE%2FT008814%2F1
• 关键词: Time; flight; Isotopic; elemental; Concentration

Anthropogenic activities are having a dramatic effect on Earth's climate, its ecosystems and humanity. Although the sum total of these changes manifests at a global scale, many of the processes involved in causing anthropogenic environmental change operate at the micron and nanometre-scale (i.e. 10-1000x smaller than the width of a human hair). This is important because in order for environmental scientists to design strategies to solve these environmental problems we need to first fully understand them, and all the processes involved, across all the relevant scales. Addressing the micron to nano-scale however currently represents a huge analytical challenge that has, up to now, been the preserve of very large and expensive machines such as synchrotrons and nanoSIMS that have limited access. They also frequently require highly specialised sample preparation that prohibits the analysis of some materials and are often challenging to use to obtain fully quantitative analyses. On the other hand, more flexible and/or more readily available techniques such as laser ablation (LA) inductively coupled plasma mass spectrometry (ICPMS) or electron microprobe either don't have the spatial resolution or the detection limits to provide quantitative analysis of elements present at low concentrations on the sub-5 um scale required. In addition, they struggle to quantify the transient signals (frequently less than one second) that result from single micro-/nano-particle analysis. Consequently, developing solutions to some of the most pressing problems on the planet does not simply require more research - it requires a major advance in the capabilities of the tools of research.Here we request funding for a new type of mass spectrometer that combines the flexibility of sample introduction (e.g. solids or liquids) of a traditional ICPMS with the time-resolved capabilities of time of flight mass spectrometry where all elements in a sample are measured simultaneously. This allows for a crucial advance - the accurate and precise full elemental determination of transient ion signals, with resulting potential for: (i) the analysis of single nanoparticles introduced into the ICPMS source one at a time; (ii) the generation of elemental maps of 2D surfaces (and 3D through depth profiling) at a sub-5 um resolution through the simultaneous full elemental analysis of each laser pulse.The potential for such an analytical tool is enormous and the TOPIC facility housed at the University of Southampton will support a number of funded proposals and existing research. It will also enable new research by the UK environmental science community that ranges across NERCs remit from improving reconstructions of climate change over the last 100 years and better determining the sources of air pollution to improving our understanding of the growth of minerals to lock away carbon dioxide from the atmosphere and providing new resources to support green technologies. The facility will not only enrich our existing research in the School of Ocean and Earth Science and the UK science community, but we will also use this unique facility to leverage new research funding including from industry. Access and training will be provided to researchers from across academia and industry, building on our existing extensive collaborative network and commercial activities. By housing the facility in an existing UK and world leading geochemistry group, that is well-supported with considerable expertise with laser ablation and mass spectrometry, we will ensure the maximum value for the investment on behalf of the UK science and technology community.

人为活动正在对地球气候、生态系统和人类产生巨大影响。虽然这些变化的总和在全球范围内表现出来，但造成人为环境变化的许多过程都是在微米和纳米尺度上进行的（即比人类头发的宽度小10- 1000倍）。这一点很重要，因为为了让环境科学家设计出解决这些环境问题的策略，我们需要首先充分了解它们，以及所有相关尺度上的所有相关过程。然而，解决微米到纳米尺度的问题目前代表着一个巨大的分析挑战，到目前为止，这一直是非常大型和昂贵的机器，如同步加速器和nanoSIMS的保留，这些机器的访问有限。它们还经常需要高度专业化的样品制备，这禁止对某些材料进行分析，并且通常难以用于获得完全定量分析。另一方面，更灵活和/或更容易获得的技术，如激光烧蚀（LA）电感耦合等离子体质谱（ICPMS）或电子微探针要么不具有空间分辨率或检测限，以提供所需的5 μ m以下尺度的低浓度元素的定量分析。此外，他们努力量化由单个微米/纳米颗粒分析产生的瞬态信号（通常小于一秒）。因此，委员会认为，为地球上一些最紧迫的问题开发解决方案不仅仅需要更多的研究--它需要研究工具的能力的重大进步。在此，我们请求资助一种新型质谱仪，该质谱仪结合了样品引入的灵活性在传统的ICPMS中，样品中的所有元素（例如，固体或液体）具有飞行时间质谱的时间分辨能力，其中同时测量样品中的所有元素。这允许一个关键的进步-瞬态离子信号的准确和精确的全元素测定，从而有可能：（i）一次一个地分析引入ICPMS源的单个纳米颗粒;（ii）生成2D表面的元素图（和3D深度剖面），通过对每个激光脉冲同时进行全元素分析，可以实现5微米的分辨率。这种分析工具的潜力是巨大的，南安普顿将支持一些资助的建议和现有的研究。它还将使英国环境科学界的新研究能够跨越NERC，从改善过去100年来气候变化的重建，更好地确定空气污染的来源，到提高我们对矿物生长的理解，以锁定大气中的二氧化碳，并提供新的资源来支持绿色技术。该设施不仅将丰富我们在海洋与地球科学学院和英国科学界的现有研究，而且我们还将利用这一独特的设施来利用新的研究资金，包括来自行业的资金。访问和培训将提供给来自学术界和工业界的研究人员，建立在我们现有的广泛的合作网络和商业活动。通过将该设施安置在现有的英国和世界领先的地球化学集团中，该集团在激光烧蚀和质谱方面拥有丰富的专业知识，我们将确保代表英国科技界的投资价值最大化。