Partner & other facilities

Chemical and Environmental Analysis Facility

The IMSE works in partnership with the Chemical and Environmental Analysis Facility to serve the needs of materials researchers at Washington University and beyond. The CEAF administers additional equipment focused on the synthesis and characterization of nanostructured materials. 

Neptune Plus Multi-Collector Inductively Coupled Mass Spectrometer (MC-ICP-MS)
 

Primary Point of Contact: Dr. Jeffrey Catalano 314-935-6015

The Department of Earth, Environmental, and Planetary Sciences, a participating department of the IMSE, operates a Neptune Plus Multi-Collector Inductively Coupled Mass Spectrometer (MC-ICP-MS) as a user facility available to scientists at Washington University and the surrounding region. The main scientific instrument in the Isotope Cosmochemistry Lab is a Thermo-Scientific Neptune Plus MC-ICP-MS. Multi-Collector ICP-MS instruments have been developed in the last 20 years in order to measure the isotopic composition of most elements at precisions relevant to geological and cosmochemical studies.

At present, only two manufacturers produce MC-ICP-MSs: Nu Instruments and Thermoscientific. The main difference is that in the Nu MC-ICP-MS, the alignment of isotopic beams into the detectors is achieved by optical tuning, whereas in Neptune instruments, detectors are physically moved to be aligned with ion beams. As a result, the tuning of a Neptune tends to be in easier and more stable.

The Isotope Cosmochemistry Laboratory’s Neptune was installed by Thermo engineers in November 2010. It has the standard Neptune Plus configuration without jet interface. The detectors are 9 Faraday cups and 1 ion counter. Faraday cups are coupled to resistors from 109Ω to 1010Ω which delivers an effective dynamic range from 0-50V to 0-500V. Measurements can be performed in low-resolution mode for maximum sensitivity, medium and high-resolution modes for eliminating poly-atomic isobaric interferences with a maximum resolving power of around  m/∆m = 8000. Hence interferences such as 40Ar16O with 56Fe can be removed but not mono-atomic interferences (e.g. 54Cr and 54Fe).

The Neptune Plus is also equipped with an ESI Apex Q desolvating nebulizer. This allows for higher sensitivity (about x4) and reduces oxide and hydride interferences. An ESI SC-micro with enclosure autosampler is also used for automated sample analysis.

The instrument has performed satisfactorily over the last 3.5 years with a few breakdowns due mostly to failures of power supplies and in the cooling systems which were fixed by replacing defective parts. It is at present in good working order. Across all measured elements, internal precisions of better than 0.05 permil are routinely achieved.

The Neptune is capable of measuring isotopic ratios for every element of the periodic table except a few light elements such as C, N, O, S. Effectively, many elements have been analyzed successfully on this particular instrument and have led to publications: Si, Ca, Cr, Fe, Cu, Zn, Sr. Other elements have also been analyzed successfully with results not yet published: Mg, Ga, Ni, Rb, Sn, Ba. Analysis of heavier elements such as Nd, Pb, U are also possible.

X-Ray Diffraction
 

Primary point of contact: Dr. Paul Carpenter

The Department of Earth and Planetary Sciences, a participating department of the IMSE, operates a powder X-ray diffractometer as a user facility available to scientists at Washington University and the surrounding region. This facility recently installed (November 2012) a Bruker D8 Advance powder diffractometer with a 3.0 kW generator, a Cu Kα X-ray source, and a LynxEye XE energy-dispersive strip detector for measuring 3° of 2θ at once without the need for a monochromator or Kβ filter. This replaced an existing powder XRD instrument (ca. 1982) and provides a factor of 200 to 400 reduction in data collection time, or a similar improvement in data quality, over traditional powder XRD instruments. The XRD laboratory provides users with access to the Bruker software EVA and TOPAS for data analysis, including phase identification, structure refinement, and quantitative phase analysis. The lab also maintains multiple diffraction and structural databases, including the ICDD powder diffraction file (PDF) database.

MEMS Shared Instrument Facility (MEMS - SIG)

Primary point of contact: Barbi Semar  

Instron 5583 electro-mechanical Universal Testing Machine. The 5583 has a load frame capacity of 150 kN (33.7 kip). It can be used for tension, compression and bending tests. Load cells with ranges of 500 N (112 lb), 5000 N (1124 lb), or 150 kN (33.7 kip) are available. The cross head speed range is 0.002 to 500 mm/min. Accessories include wedge grips, compression platens, a dynamic extensometer (Instron 2620- 602), and a 3-point bending setup, which accommodates specimens up to 6 in. long. Instron Bluehill software is used to control the test parameters, record and store data.

MTS 858 Mini Bionix servo-hydraulic test system. The recently upgraded MTS system uses a FlexTest 40 controller. It has a load frame capacity of 25 kN (5.5 kip), torsional actuator capacity of 150 N-m (1325 in-lb) and displacement range of 100 mm. It is equipped with a 550 lb/150 inlb combined axial/torsional load cell and an additional 8 channel A/D board for external inputs. The system uses MTS TestSuiteTM software to control the test parameters, record and store data.

TA Instruments AR-G2 rheometer for characterizing viscous fluids and viscoelastic solids. The G2 has a torque range (0.003 uN-m to 200 N-m), axial force range (0.005 – 50 N), angular velocity 0-300 rad/sec, oscillatory frequency up to 100 Hz. A Peltier plate is used to control sample temperature (2 to 100 oC). Accessories include flat plate (8, 20, 40, 60 mm dia), cone (20 mm, 40 mm) and crosshatched (8, 20, 40, 60 mm dia) geometries and TA Rheology AdvantageTM software for test control and data acquisition and analysis.

Objet 24 High-Resolution 3D printer. The Objet 24 employs patented PolyJet technology. PolyJet 3D Printing is similar to inkjet document printing. Instead of jetting drops of ink onto paper, PolyJet 3D Printers jet layers of liquid photopolymer onto a build tray and cure them with UV light. The layers build up one at a time to create a 3D model or prototype. Fully-cured models can be handled and used immediately, without additional post-curing. The build material is a rigid white opaque photopolymer. Build Size: 234 x 192 x 148.6 mm (9.21 x 7.55 x 5.85 in) Build Resolution: X-axis: 600 dpi; Y-axis: 600 dpi; Z-axis: 900 dp Accuracy: 0.1 mm (0.0039 in) - varies according to geometry, part orientation and print size Costs: Build material is $0.38/gm, support material is $0.19/gm, machine time is $10/hr

Confocal Microscope.