MRI: Acquisition of Imaging X-Ray Photoelectron Spectroscopy System for Interdisciplinary Research and Education in Multi-Scale Materials

0922910Stanishevsky U.阿拉巴马州伯明翰“该奖项是根据2009年美国复苏和再投资法案(公法111-5)资助的。”技术摘要：拟议的成像微探针X射线光电子能谱(XPS)系统是为固体表面的空间分辨化学分析而设计的。该工具在阿拉巴马大学伯明翰分校(UAB)纳米材料和生物集成跨学科中心(CNMB)创建了核心共享分析设施的新的多用户元素。它为CNMB、四个UAB科学和工程部门的大型用户团队提供服务，并通过与阿拉巴马州立大学(ASU)和NSF-材料世界网络(与罗兹技术大学(波兰)的合作伙伴关系)促进合作。XPS对我们至关重要，因为它具有在材料的薄层(5 Nm)中区分不同氧化状态和化学环境的独特能力，而且在使用溅射配件时能够深度剖析化学成分。成像XPS是唯一具有多种功能的工具，可以应对我们项目中的微尺度表征挑战：(I)新型多尺度生物材料的表面修饰和功能化；(Ii)生物活性单分子层和自组装仿生纳米结构；(Iii)在极端压力下形成的新型相；(Iv)聚合物和聚合物-陶瓷多功能纳米复合材料中的界面化学和热诱导过程；(V)宽带隙半导体材料和结构中的表面和界面现象；以及(Vi)纳米结构、多层和梯度金属陶瓷和陶瓷薄膜材料。该XPS系统提供3门研究生课程和5门本科课程的培训，每学期注册人数约135人，在我们的跨学科NSF-REU网站(女性和少数族裔占参与者的57%)以及我们的合作伙伴亚利桑那州立大学S CREST和HBCUUP项目中增加了研究机会，并通过我们的NSF-RET网站和伯明翰麦克韦恩科学中心的UAB日提高了K-12学生、教师和普通公众对表面科学和工程的认识。CNMB为XPS系统的运行，容纳多个用户，以及在地方、国家和国际层面启动新项目提供必要的基础设施和长期支持。非技术摘要：X射线光电子能谱(XPS)是一种用于确定非常薄的固体材料层组成的化学分析技术。成像XPS还可以以微米级的分辨率绘制表面化学成分的变化。我们的大部分研究项目涉及通过不同的化学和物理方法对其进行表面改性的新型技术材料。关键性质往往由材料的最外层决定，而当代的表面分析工具将对研究项目的生产率和新想法的产生产生巨大影响。成像XPS满足了这一需求，并在阿拉巴马大学伯明翰分校创建了一个新的多用户材料分析设施。该仪器是阿拉巴马州第一台这样的仪器，它服务于亚利桑那州立大学S纳米材料和生物集成中心、四个亚利桑那州立大学科学和工程系、他们在阿拉巴马州立大学的合作伙伴以及全州其他科学家的一大群科学家和学生。它提供3门研究生课程和5门本科课程的培训，每学期招生约135人，加强UAB为本科生提供的研究体验计划(女性和少数族裔占参与者的57%)，以及亚利桑那州立大学CREST和HBCUUP计划，通过我们的教师研究体验计划和伯明翰麦克韦恩科学中心的UAB日，提高K-12学生、教师和普通公众对表面科学和工程的认识，并在州、国家和国际层面促进更广泛的研究合作。总体而言，这一XPS系统是UAB研究基础设施的重要组成部分，与高技能人员的发展和新知识的产生有关，这是科学技术进步和经济增长的先决条件。

0922910StanishevskyU. Alabama Birmingham"This award is funded under the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009 (Public Law 111-5)."Technical Abstract: The proposed imaging microprobe X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS) system is designed for spatially resolved chemical analysis of solid surfaces. This tool creates a new multi-user element of the core shared analytical facility in the interdisciplinary Center for Nanoscale Materials and Biointegration (CNMB) at U of Alabama at Birmingham (UAB). It serves a large team of users from CNMB, four UAB science and engineering departments, and fosters collaborations through the partnership with Alabama State U (ASU) and NSF-Materials World Network with Technical U of Lodz (Poland). XPS is critical for us due to its unique ability to discriminate between different oxidation states and chemical environments in a thin layer (5 nm) of a material, yet capable of the depth profiling of chemical composition when using a sputtering accessory. Imaging XPS is the only tool that has a combination of features to address the challenges of microscale characterization in our projects on: (i) surface modification and functionalization of new multi-scale biomaterials; (ii) bio-active monolayers and self-assembled biomimetic nanoarchitectures; (iii) novel phases formed under extreme pressures; (iv) chemistry of interfaces and thermally-induced processes in polymer and polymer-ceramic multifunctional nanocomposites; (v) surface and interface phenomena in wide band-gap semiconductor materials and structures; and (vi) nanostructured, multilayer, and gradient metal-ceramic and ceramic thin-film materials. This XPS system provides training in 3 graduate and 5 undergraduate courses with enrollment of ~135 per semester, enhances research opportunities in our interdisciplinary NSF-REU site where women and minorities account for 57% of the participants and in our partner ASU?s CREST and HBCUUP programs, and raises the awareness of surface science and engineering among K-12 students, teachers, and general public through our NSF-RET site and UAB day at McWane Science Center in Birmingham. CNMB provides necessary infrastructure and long-term support for the XPS system operation, accommodation of multiple users, and the initiation of new projects at local, national, and international levels.Non-Technical Abstract: X-ray Photoelectron Spectroscopy (XPS) is a chemical analysis technique used to determine the composition of very thin layers of solid materials. Imaging XPS can also map the variations in surface chemical composition with a micrometer resolution. Most of our research projects deal with novel technological materials that have been surface modified by different chemical and physical methods. Very often the critical properties are determined by the outermost layers of the material, and a contemporary surface-analytical tool would have a colossal impact on the productivity of the research projects and generation of new ideas. The imaging XPS meets this need and creates a new multi-user materials analysis facility at University of Alabama at Birmingham. The instrument is the first of this kind in Alabama, and it serves a large group of scientists and students in UAB?s Center for Nanoscale Materials and Biointegration, four UAB science and engineering departments, their partners at Alabama State University (ASU), and other scientists across the state. It provides training in 3 graduate and 5 undergraduate courses with enrollment of ~135 per semester, enhances the UAB Research Experiences for Undergraduates program where women and minorities account for 57% of the participants, and ASU CREST and HBCUUP programs, raises the awareness of surface science and engineering among K-12 students, teachers, and general public through our Research Experiences for Teachers program and UAB day at McWane Science Center in Birmingham, and fosters broader research collaboration at the state, national and international levels. Overall, this XPS system is a critical element of UAB research infrastructure, linked to the development of highly skilled personnel and the generation of new knowledge, which are a prerequisite for progress in science and technology as well as economic growth.