Curved Crystal Microfocus X-ray Monochromator

该提案要求为曲面晶体微焦单色仪提供资金，该单色仪将取代我们的Bruker Smart Apex 2钼衍射仪的标准平板石墨单色仪。这次升级将在晶体上提供X射线“热点”，导致非常小的单晶的衍射强度高达7倍，使研究人员能够从小至约0.000004毫米立方米的样品中确定分子结构和固态结构。申请者一直在突破化学X射线实验室所能达到的极限。现有的仪器和样品制备技术已被配置为解决一系列具有挑战性的问题。X射线源亮度的增加将使申请者能够获得以前无法获得的分子结构，这些分子结构在很大程度上是他的空气和热敏化合物(有时是侵略性氧化剂)无法获得的，并可以在更短的时间内更经济地产生更精确的结构模型。除了提供更多和更好质量的分子结构，此次升级还将允许申请人和麦克马斯特X射线设备(MAX)的其他用户获得高分辨率的衍射数据，包括详细的漫射和无公度散射。这些散射特征将允许对短距离结构修改和相共生进行建模，这两个因素可以显著改变材料的物理性质。MAX设施的任务之一是对研究生、博士后研究员和教职员工进行使用衍射方法解决结构问题的实践培训。研究生水平的课程包括单晶和粉末衍射技术的理论和实践，课程项目通常会出版。因此，MAX设施不断开发和传播新的应用程序和能力。最先进的微焦点X射线源具有现有钼衍射仪的增强能力，也将提供最新的X射线结晶学培训。同样的升级最近出现在加拿大的实验室里，事实证明这是一笔值得的投资。

This Proposal requests funding for a curved crystal microfocus monochromator which will replace the standard flat graphite monochromator of our Bruker Smart Apex 2 Molybdenum diffractometer. The upgrade will provide an X-ray "hot spot" at the crystal, resulting in up to 7 times the diffracted intensity from very small single crystals, allowing researchers to determine molecular and solid-state structures from samples as small as ca. 0.000004 mm3. The Applicant has consistently pushed the limits of what can be achieved in a chemistry X-ray laboratory. The existing instrumentation and sample preparation techniques have been configured to tackle a wide range of challenging problems. The increased brilliance of the X-ray source will allow the Applicant to obtain molecular structures that were previously unattainable for a large percentage of his air- and thermally sensitive compounds which are, sometime, aggressive oxidizers, and to produce more precise structural models in less time and more economically. In addition to providing access to more and better quality molecular structures, this upgrade will also permit the Applicant and other users of the McMaster X-ray facility (MAX) to obtain high-resolution diffraction data, including detailed diffuse and incommensurate scattering. These scattering features will allow the modeling of short range structural modifications and intergrowth of phases, two factors which can drastically alter the physical properties of materials. One of the mandates of the MAX facility is the hands-on training of graduate students, postdoctoral fellows, and faculty in the use of diffraction methods to solve structural problems. Graduate level courses are offered in the theory and practice of single-crystal and powder diffraction techniques, and course projects generally result in publications. Consequently, new applications and capabilities are constantly being developed and disseminated from the MAX Facility. A state-of-the art microfocus X-ray source with the enhanced capabilities it imparts to the existing Mo diffractometer would also provide training in X-ray crystallography that is up-to-date. The identical upgrade has recently appeared in labs in Canada and has proven to be a worthwhile investment.