The Materials Characterization Facility (MCF) is a core research facility of the Center for Sustainable Energy at Notre Dame (cSEND). This core facility provides researchers with modern instrumentation and expertise for solid and liquid material characterization by spectroscopic, thermal, X-ray, BET, and spectrometric analytical methods. The MCF also combines the capabilities for material synthesis and modification and enables characterization and in-situ formation studies of complex actinide materials containing transuranium elements. The MCF welcomes users from the University of Notre Dame and external academia and industrial institutions.
The major instrumentation includes:
Spectroscopy
- FTIR Spectrometer equipped with ATR and Diffuse reflectance accessory (Jasco)
- Micro-Raman Spectrometer equipped with 532 nm and 785 nm lasers (Jasco)
- Raman Spectrometer equipped with 785 nm laser and two optical fiber extensions for in-situ monitoring of thermal reactions in solution (Bruker)
- UV-Vis Spectrometer equipped with integrating sphere accessory (Jasco)
Surface Analysis
- BET: Physisorption/Chemisorption (Micromeritics)
- Profilometer (Bruker)
- XPS with external high temperature/high pressure chamber (PHI) to be installed in summer 2012
Thermal Analysis
- DSC (Mettler Toledo)
- Isothermal Calorimeter (Setaram)
- TGA/DSC-Mass Spectrometer unit (Mettler Toledo / Pfeiffer)
Crystallography
- Powder XRD (Bruker)
- Single Crystal XRD (Bruker)
Synthesis
- Microwave Reactor equipped with gas addition kit (CEM)
Polymer/Particle Analysis
- SEC-MALS (Wyatt)
- Zetasizer (Malvern)
Gas Analysis
- Gas Chromatograph with Mass Spectrometry