Probing the Structure of Solids and Materials with Powder X-ray Diffraction

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Inorganic solids, nanomaterials, and hybrid materials are attractive candidates for technological applications with significant environmental, economic, and social impacts. They include thermoelectrics, which could convert waste heat from the exhaust of cars into useful electricity; silicon nanoparticles, which can emit much more vibrant bright light in flat-screen displays; and bioinspired materials, which improve on nature's existing materials to build much stronger composites such as dental materials or glass ceramics. Designing these materials and accelerating their discovery requires a detailed picture of how atoms are arranged on a microscopic level and how this structural information is related to the physical properties. One of the most important techniques to probe the structure of matter is through X-ray diffraction, which is an essential tool in any laboratory carrying out research in materials science. It complements other techniques, such as solid-state nuclear magnetic resonance spectroscopy, in providing long-range structural information needed to characterize solids and materials. The equipment requested is a state-of-the-art tabletop powder X-ray diffractometer, which is urgently needed to replace an existing instrument that has exceeded its end-of-life cycle and has a defective detector that is irreparable. It is an economical replacement for the failing instrument, supplied with a highly accurate detector that will enable faster data collection, and upgraded with the ability to measure data at variable temperatures which allows us to better understand reaction mechanisms. The equipment will be used by a large group of researchers with longstanding experience in materials synthesis and characterization, and will also be attractive to new researchers in environmental and analytical science. Both graduate and undergraduate students will be trained to use the instrument and to analyze the data. Skills in X-ray diffraction are highly valuable for an incredibly diverse range of careers, including nontraditional ones such as conservation scientists who examine cultural artifacts.