MRI: Acquisition of a Scanning Electron Microscope

该奖项由主要研究仪器（MRI）和化学研究仪器（CRIF）项目支持。来自芝加哥洛约拉大学的Jacob Ciszek教授及其同事已经获得了一种具有能量色散x射线光谱（EDS）功能的扫描电子显微镜（SEM）。扫描电镜/能谱仪将电子束聚焦在样品上。电子与样品表面相互作用，产生材料的视觉图像并分析其化学元素。这些图像揭示了材料结构的细节，如纳米颗粒、蛋白质或生物体的大小和形状。这样的图像可以帮助我们了解这种材料的特性。此次收购加强了北芝加哥三所大学（洛约拉大学、德保罗大学和哥伦比亚学院）对研究生和本科生的研究培训。这台电子显微镜加强了各级的研究和教育。它影响着各种各样的研究领域，如确定有机半导体表面上反应位点的空间位置和分析蜥蜴脚趾垫的微结构。该仪器还用于表征噬菌体的多样性，分析视网膜中重金属环境生物积累的空间位置，以及表征五大湖虾虎鱼咽颌进化相关的小特征。SEM/EDS功能有利于自组装超分子聚合物的分析以及陨石碳组分的鉴定和定量。该显微镜用于分析电极自旋涂覆薄膜的形态学变化，成像光伏器件的中尺度形态学特征，以及测量用于识别小蜗牛的分类特征。

This award is supported by the Major Research Instrumentation (MRI) and the Chemistry Research Instrumentation (CRIF) Programs. Professor Jacob Ciszek from Loyola University of Chicago and colleagues have acquired a scanning electron microscope (SEM) with energy dispersive X-ray spectroscopy (EDS) capabilities. A SEM/EDS focuses a beam of electrons at a sample. The electrons interact with sample surfaces to produce a visual image of the material and analyze its chemical elements. These images reveal details of a material's structure such as the size and shape of nanoparticles, proteins or organisms. Such images can help understand the material's properties. This acquisition enhances the training of graduate and undergraduate students in research at three North Chicago institutions: Loyola University, DePaul University and Columbia College. This electron microscope enhances research and education at all levels. It impacts research areas which are as diverse as the determination of the spacial location of reaction loci on organic semiconductor surfaces and the analysis of the microarchitecture of lizard toe pads. The instrument is also used in characterizing the diversity of phages, analyzing spatial location of heavy metal environmental bioaccumulation in the retina, and characterizing the small features associated with pharyngeal jaw evolution of goby fish in the Great Lakes. The SEM/EDS capabilities benefits the analysis of self-assembled supramolecular polymers and identification and quantification of carbon fractions from meteorites. The microscope is used in analyzing the morphology of changes associated with thin-films spin coated from electrodes, imaging the mesoscale morphological features of photovoltaic devices, and measuring taxonomic characters used to identify small snails.