Critical Replacement of Thermogravimetric Analyzer to Leverage Materials Discovery and Innovation

我们的团队申请资金购买热重分析仪(TGA)，用于先进的材料热分析。这项申请是对已有22年历史、陈旧和不再使用的TGA 2950的关键替代，TGA 2950是蒙特雷亚尔大学校区唯一专门使用的TGA。热重分析是材料分析的一个重要方面。因此，缺乏对该仪器的访问阻碍了至少7个研究项目的及时进展，包括2名职业早期研究人员的研究项目，同时阻止在5年内(每年50个核心用户)获取行业寻求的关于尖端热分析仪器的250个HQP的专业知识。在我们的研究活动中，从材料设计和合成(Kornienko，Skene，WUEST)到配方和加工(Dollé，Laventure，Martel，Pellerin)，以及涉及我们的工业合作伙伴的几个应用项目，必须定期进行TGA测量。因此，购买新的TGA设备是维持我们的NSERC资助的研究项目、培育我们的行业合作伙伴关系以及通过为学生开发新的案例研究来加强我们的一些高级本科教学活动的必要条件。TGA将在LCMP主办，这是一个开放和共享的仪器平台，由一名熟练的研究助理管理。该地区的加拿大研发公司将可以使用这些设备，他们将受益于先进的TGA功能和专业知识，从而增加他们的竞争力。申请者都在材料化学领域领导着强有力的研究计划，站在基础和应用研究的前沿。它们解决了聚合物科学和物理化学中的基本问题，以及能源和可持续制造中的主要挑战。然而，这些项目的进展取决于TGA是否可用于成分分析、挥发分含量测定和分解动力学分析。获取这些信息是建立结构-性质关系和合理指导下一代材料设计所必需的。我们团队的研究重点是有机小分子、聚合物、金属/共价有机骨架、复合材料以及通过各种技术加工的一维或二维纳米材料，如静电纺丝和添加剂制造。正在研究的材料具有多种应用的技术相关性，包括催化、能量转换/存储、光电子器件和可持续制造。TGA还将有助于丰富我们的教学活动，扩大我们的产业合作范围。我们的团队是一支强大的力量，具有公认的能力，为培训掌握热分析技能的新一代材料科学家做出贡献，并促进与加拿大先进材料价值链多个组成部分相关的知识的发展。

Our team requests funds for the purchase of a thermogravimetric analyzer (TGA) for advanced materials thermal analyses. This request stands as a critical replacement of the 22 year old, obsolete and out-of-use TGA 2950, the only dedicated TGA of the Université de Montréal Campus MIL. Thermogravimetric analysis is an essential aspect of materials analysis. Thus, the lack of access to this instrument impedes the timely progress of at least 7 research programs, including those of 2 early career researchers, while preventing the acquisition of industry-sought expertise for 250 HQP on a 5-year period (50 core users yearly) on a cutting-edge thermal analysis instrumentation. TGA measurements must be routinely conducted in our research activities ranging from materials design & synthesis (Kornienko, Skene, Wuest) to formulation & processing (Dollé, Laventure, Martel, Pellerin), as well as for several applied project involving our industrial partners. Thus, the acquisition of a new TGA equipment is a sine qua non condition to sustain our NSERC-funded research programs, nurture our industrial partnerships, and strengthen some of our advanced undergraduate teaching activities by developing a new case study for students. The TGA will be hosted in the LCMP, an open and shared instrumentation platform managed by a skilled research associate. The equipment will be accessible to the Canadian R&D companies of the area, who will benefit from advanced TGA features and expertise, thus increase their competitivity. The applicants all lead vigorous research programs in materials chemistry standing at the forefront of fundamental and applied research. They address fundamental questions in polymer science and physical chemistry, and major challenges in energy and sustainable manufacturing. Yet, the progress of these programs depends on the availability of a TGA for compositional analysis, volatile content determination, and decomposition kinetics analyses. Accessing this information is needed to establish structure-property relationships and to rationally guide the design of the next generation of materials. Our team's research focusses on organic small molecules, polymers, metal/covalent-organic frameworks, composites and 1D or 2D nanomaterials processed by a variety of techniques, such as electrospinning and additive manufacturing. The materials under investigation present technological relevance for a variety of applications, including catalysis, energy conversion/storage, optoelectronic devices, and sustainable manufacturing. The TGA will also contribute to enrich our teaching activities and broaden the scope of our industrial collaborations. Our team stands as a striking force with a proven capability of contributing to the training of the next generation of materials scientists skilled in thermal analysis, and to the advancement of knowledge relevant to multiple components of the Canadian advanced materials value chain.