Equipment: MRI: Track # 1 Acquisition of an X-ray Diffractometer for Research and Undergraduate Training

This Major Research Infrastructure (MRI) grant provides support for the purchase of an X-Ray diffractometer that will enhance teaching and research activities at Swarthmore College and other primarily undergraduate institutions in the Southeastern Pennsylvania region. X-Ray powder diffraction is one of the most powerful and widely-used tools for materials characterization with a user base that spans the physics, chemistry, materials science, and engineering communities.

Students and faculty across the Natural Science and Engineering Division at Swarthmore College will use the X-Ray diffractometer in courses that span the introductory and advanced curricula and to carry out cutting-edge research experiments on materials ranging from engineered nanomaterials to rechargeable battery cathodes. These measurements will support students to gain a fundamental understanding of the structure of materials and evaluate the structure of new materials that have the potential to improve upon existing technologies.

Swarthmore College will also welcome external users from primarily undergraduate institutions across the Southeastern Pennsylvania region to visit Swarthmore to advance their own research projects and introduce their students to a widely used tool.

The X-Ray diffraction system at Swarthmore College will provide a high-powered X-Ray system that can be flexibly configured to meet the range of teaching and research needs of current and future faculty. The instrument will be equipped with a 1 kW X-Ray source that provides capabilities for x-ray diffraction and measurements of powders and thin films.

An additional high-temperature vacuum furnace will allow measurements up to 1600 C to observe phase changes in materials. A battery holder with an integrated potentiostat will be used for operando X-Ray diffraction measurements during electrochemical cycling. Ongoing projects of faculty that will immediately benefit from this instrument include the following: (i) characterization of engineered nanomaterials, (ii) operando measurements of the cathode evolution in rechargeable batteries, (iii) thermodynamic investigations of battery cathode materials, and (iv) studies of structurally and morphologically engineered glasses.

The X-Ray diffraction system will considerably expand the characterization capabilities of research groups at Swarthmore College, and provide a hub for neighboring institutions to obtain high-quality diffraction data and train research students.

This award reflects NSF's statutory mission and has been deemed worthy of support through evaluation using the Foundation's intellectual merit and broader impacts review criteria.