Acquisition of Surface Analysis Instrumentation for Research and Education at the University of Illinois at Chicago

该奖项将提供一个组合X射线光电子能谱（XPS）/离子散射光谱（ISS）仪器，将允许固体样品表面的最先进的表征。正是催化剂和半导体等材料的这些最顶层原子表面层的组成决定了材料的功能，并且这种组成通常与体相完全不同。XPS/ISS仪器具有在全球范围内表征表面的能力，是对芝加哥伊利诺伊大学正在进行的研究工作的必要补充。 该大学已经开发了基础设施来管理和维护其研究资源中心的这种服务模式，多用户仪器。每年约有100名学生将通过这一设施接触XPS/ISS的操作和数据分析。学生在表面分析的教育将不仅通过具体的研究课题，而且还通过课程，如催化剂表征的化学工程课程，固体物理学的物理课程，和光谱学的几个化学课程。催化剂和其他材料的开发和表征是化学过程工业中大多数新发展的核心，因此这一教育领域对高年级本科生和研究生非常有价值。

This award will provide a combination x-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS)/ion scattering spectroscopy (ISS) instrument that will permit state of the art characterization of the surfaces of solid samples. It is the composition of these topmost atomic surface layers of materials such as catalysts and semiconductors that determines how the materials function, and this composition is often quite different from the bulk. The XPS/ISS instrument, with its ability to characterize surfaces on a global scale, is a necessary complement to the ongoing research efforts at the University of Illinois at Chicago. The university has developed the infrastructure to manage and maintain this service-mode, multi-user instrumentation in its Research Resources Center. About 100 students each year will be exposed to operation and data analysis for XPS/ISS through this facility. Students' education in surface analysis will come about not only through specific research topics, but also through course offerings such as a chemical engineering course on catalyst characterization, a physics course in solid-state physics, and several chemistry courses in spectroscopy. Catalyst and other materials development and characterization are at the heart of most new developments in the chemical process industry, and so this area of education is extremely valuable to advanced undergraduate and graduate students.