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) at the Isotope Cosmochemistry Laboratory Department of Earth, Environmental, and Planetary Sciences

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.

Microanalysis Facility at the Department of Earth, Environmental, and Planetary Sciences

The Earth, Environmental, and Planetary Sciences microanalysis facility is run by Professor Brad Jolliff and Paul Carpenter. The facility includes several pieces of equipment available for outside use:

• Electron Microprobe
• X-ray diffractometer
• Micro X-ray fluorescence spectrometer

Use the online instrument scheduler to reserve time in the microanalysis facility.

MEMS Shared Instrument Facility (MEMS-SIG) at the Department of Mechanical Engineering & Materials Science

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.

Biology Imaging Facility

The imaging facility is a fee-for-service center available for the training and assistance of all members of the Washington University community, with special emphasis on all departments on the Danforth Campus.  The facility is available for trained users 7 days a week.  In addition, the facility instruments are available for use in university courses, and for upper level undergraduates involved in Bio 500 research.  The facility provides multiple demonstrations yearly for vendors of novel instrumentation, and tours can be arranged for faculty, job candidates and outside groups on request, including outreach tours for approved K-12 groups.  New to 2021, workshops are planned to provide hands-on experience with our newest instruments to help users get the most of their data.

Department of Chemistry Mass Spectrometry Facility

The NIH/NIGMS-supported biomedical mass spectrometry (MS) research facility develops novel MS-based solutions to analytical challenges, and provides service, collaboration, and training for MS-based characterization, identification and quantification of all biomolecular classes extracted from in vitro and in vivo model systems. The MS research facility supports integrated research programs in ion chemistry, protein biophysics, targeted and untargeted proteomics, focused on advancing MS platforms, software, and their analytical capabilities for expanding biological knowledge, and training the next generation of translational scientists interested in biomedical applications of MS.

Department of Chemistry Polymer Core Facility

The Polymer Core Facility, located in 443 Louderman within the Chemistry Department, offers a range of services for polymer research. These services include custom polymer synthesis and polymer characterization. The capabilities of custom synthesis include polymers having different architectures, micro-/nanoparticles (polymer, SiO2, etc.), hydrogels, and small molecules (ligands, dyes, etc.). Polymer characterization service includes molecular weight and molecular weight distribution (GPC, MALDI-TOF MS, etc.) and rheological properties. Additionally, the facility has several advanced 3D printers for additive manufacturing services.

Department of Chemistry Nuclear Magnetic Resonance Facility

The Washington University High-Resolution NMR Facility is managed by Manmilan Singh (director) and Jeff Kao (spectroscopist). The facility is located in Louderman 355 (314-935-6669) and Wrighton 240 (314-935-9411). The facility houses five modern multi-nuclear spectrometers with field strengths from 7.05-14.1 Tesla. The spectrometers are equipped with Red Hat Linux Enterprise computers and are networked to the Chemistry Computing Facility (CCF).

The facility provides

• 24/7 access to NMR spectrometers and software
• hands-on education in the use and application of NMR technology to assess spectral assignment, molecular dynamics, and structure
• implementation of traditional and newly developed NMR methods
• collaborative research opportunities with facility staff

Solid State Nuclear Magnetic Resonance Facility

Nuclear Magnetic Resonance (NMR) spectroscopy is an experimental technique used widely in chemistry, materials science, and chemical and environmental engineering that utilizes a large external magnetic field and radiofrequency pulses to obtain physical and chemical information about the materials of interest.

Our facility is uniquely equipped with a 400 MHz Bruker AVANCE NEO spectrometer capable of performing high temperature (up to 250 C) and high pressure (400 bar at 20 C, 200 bar at 250 C) NMR experiments for in-situ analysis. For a more in depth look at our instrumentation and how it is used to further research in a wide variety of areas, follow the links below.

We are currently open to receiving samples from both internal and external institutions for analysis! If you wish to have samples analyzed on our instrument, please visit our user access page below for an explanation of how to have samples analyzed at our facility.

UltraFast Laser Facility at the Department of Environmental & Chemical Engineering

We perform steady-state and time-resolved spectroscopy as:

• steady-state absorption
• steady-state fluorescence and photo-luminescence
• time-resolved emission imaging with temporal resolution down to 10 ps
• time-correlated single photon counting (TCSPC) with temporal resolution of 200 ps
• transient absorption spectroscopy in UV-VIS-NIR (350-1600 nm) with temporal resolution of 200 fs in time window 0-7 ns
• transient absorption spectroscopy in 400-900 nm with temporal resolution of  1 ns and time window 20 ns – 400 us, or more
• broad spectrum of materials that could be studied (pigments, proteins, semiconductor, nano-particles and films, crystalline, solid samples)

Secondary Ion Mass Spectrometry (7f-GEO SIMS) Facility at the Department of Earth, Environmental, and Planetary Sciences

Secondary ion mass spectrometry (SIMS) is one of the most sensitive techniques for studying surfaces of materials. It can determine the surface chemical composition, very precisely, detecting elements at down to parts-per-billion levels. By focusing a beam of charged atoms (ions) onto the surface of the sample, atoms are ejected (a process called sputtering). Using lenses and a mass spectrometer, the initial location and type of atom (chemistry and isotope) can be identified to a very high precision. Sputtering can also be used to progressively erode the sample, allowing three-dimensional chemical/isotope profiles to be obtained. A significant advantage of SIMS is that it is sensitive to all elements in the periodic table.