Upgrade of a CCD detector for a single-crystal x-ray diffractometer

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Structure determination and elucidation are an integral and indispensable part of any chemical research because it provides critical information for understanding chemical and physical properties/functions of molecular compounds and materials. A single-crystal X-ray diffractometer is the ultimate tool for the determination of molecular structures and the structures of solids.  This proposal seeks funding to upgrade a 7-year old Bruker AXS Smart 1000 detector to a state-of-the-art Apex II detector of a single-crystal X-ray diffractometer that is a key research facility for about 10 research groups and more than 70 graduate students and postdoctoral fellows in the Chemistry Department at Queen's.  The upgrade involves the trade-in of the old detector and the installation of the new detector. It is out of the necessity of integrating the newly installed X-ray diffractometer with a compatible detector and the need to achieve better diffraction data by researchers. The cost of this upgrade by trading in the old CCD detector is about 1/4 of the cost of purchasing a new detector. The new detector will have about 10 times higher sensitivity than the old detector which will enable researchers to investigate crystals that are too small or diffract too weakly for the old detector, hence drastically enhancing the capability of the X-ray diffraction facility.