Facilities

Transmission electron microscope. The current instrument is a JEOL 100 keV system. It was purchased secondhand in 2004, but it works very well and it takes surprisingly good pictures. It is not a high resolution instrument: on a very good day with a perfect sample we can just see lattice planes. However, it is excellent for observing features at the 2-3 nm scale. It does not have a digital camera, so images are recorded on film. It does not have analytical capability. It is an excellent training instrument for students and researchers who wish to incorporate TEM studies into their research programme. It is also useful for evaluating candidate samples before proceeding to more advanced TEM techniques. It can give excellent research results in its own right, imaging nanoparticles or materials incorporated in thin films, for example. The MCC supports associated sample preparation facilities: ion-beam thinning, Au- and C-coating, etc. There is a charging system in place in order to recoup the costs of consumables, maintenance, etc., based on an hourly fee. There is no dedicated technical support for the TEM: the overall instrument operation is managed by Dr. S. Firth, Experimental Officer working part-time within the MCC. Training and access to the instrument is managed by Dr. Firth and a group of dedicated postdoctoral associates and students associated with the MCC. The instrument is located in LG 26. If you wish to use the MCC TEM, please contact Dr. Steve Firth at s.firth@ucl.ac.uk.

Renishaw Raman/fluorescence microscope. This is an advanced micro-Raman spectroscopy system used in a wide range of materials characterisation experiments. It consists of a Renishaw spectrograph system based on use of Kayser™ notch filters with a sensitive CCD detector coupled to a microscope for point-by-point analyses. Incident lasers for Raman scattering and fluorescence measurements range from the near-infrared (785 nm) through the visible (442, 514 nm) to the UV (325 nm). A removable side-arm permits studies of bulky samples and in situ investigations inside reaction cells, etc. There is a charging system in place in order to recoup the costs of instrument maintenance, consumables, etc., based on an hourly fee. There is no dedicated technical support for the micro-Raman facility: the overall instrument operation is managed by Dr. S. Firth, Experimental Officer working part-time within the MCC. Training and access to the instrument is managed by Dr. Firth and a group of dedicated postdoctoral associates and students associated with the MCC. The instrument is located in room 305. If you wish to use the MCC Raman/fluorescence microscopy facility, please contact Dr. Steve Firth at s.firth@ucl.ac.uk. *

*For advanced micro-Raman, fluorescence or FTIR/UV-visible experiments, these are available within several research groups operating within the MCC. For access details, please contact Dr. S. Firth at s.firth@ucl.ac.uk.

Thermal Analysis. Thermogravimetric, differential thermal and differential scanning calorimetric analyses are performed on a Netzsch system. These analyses allow the precise determination of the temperature and associated enthalpy changes of decomposition reactions and of phase changes within the sample. This apparatus allows measurement up to 1650 °C in a range of atmospheres, and also allows the measurement of magnetic phase changes. There is a charging system in place in order to recoup the costs of instrument maintenance, consumables, etc., based on a per sample fee. There is no dedicated technical support for the thermal analysis facility: the overall instrument operation is managed by Dr. S. Firth, Experimental Officer working part-time within the MCC. Training and access to the instrument is managed by Dr. Firth and a group of dedicated postdoctoral associates and students associated with the MCC. The instrument is located in room LG26. If you wish to use the MCC Thermal analysis facility, please contact Dr. Steve Firth at s.firth@ucl.ac.uk.

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This page was last modified on April 28, 2006         Contact Us