MRI: Track 1 Acquisition of a Bench Top Powder X-ray Diffractometer Enabling Research, Education, and Outreach in the Upper Great Plains

This award is jointly supported by the Major Research Instrumentation (MRI) Program, the Division of Chemistry Research Instrumentation program, and the Mathematical and Physical Sciences Directorate Office of Strategic Initiatives. In this project, the department of chemistry at the University of South Dakota will acquire a new powder X-ray diffractometer to support teaching and research activities. Powder X-ray diffractometers are used to identify crystalline materials present in a wide range of sample types such as nanomaterials, pharmaceuticals, geological materials, and composites as well as new materials produced in the research laboratory. This instrumental method allows scientists to assess detailed information such as the types of crystalline materials present in samples, the size and shape of those crystals, and the fraction of crystalline material. These crystalline properties relate to the reactivity, performance, and overall behavior of samples. The instrument supports research to disrupt the illicit economy, improve security, improve diagnosis and treatment of disease, and advance industrial processes with education and training opportunities to impact the upper Great Plains region. Advanced materials are critical to new technologies and a subject of ongoing research that is fundamentally driven by an understanding of the structure and properties of materials. Many compositions of matter contain crystalline phases. Due to the atomic ordering, the principle of X-ray diffraction may be applied for the identification of crystalline phases and phase analysis, such as crystal morphology, stress, fraction, in materials, including inorganic, nanostructured, polymeric, or porous materials, making it an essential tool for materials characterization. Acquisition of a powder X-ray diffractometer at the University of South Dakota advances impactful research projects in the areas of doped inorganic materials with dynamic luminescent properties, luminescent carbon dots for bioanalysis and bioimaging, metal-organic supercontainers, catalytic processes on nanocrystal surfaces, and thin film organic materials. The projects provide training opportunities for users from undergraduate, graduate, postdoctoral, faculty, and technicians. Users learn principles of radiation safety and powder X-ray diffraction, how to use advanced instrumentation and interpret data, and how to report data, including deposition in data repositories for open access to the scientific community. 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.