activity report 2014 - keele university · activity report 2014. ... it was the idea of the late...

The Birchall Centre

Keele University

UK

Activity Report 2013

The Birchall CentreKeele UniversityUK


CONTACT INFORMATION

Birchall CentreLennard-Jones LaboratoriesKeele UniversityKeele ST5 5BGStaffordshireUK

Centre DirectorDr Vladimir Zholobenko Tel: +44 (0)1782 734352 email: [email protected]

SecretaryDr Chrystelle Egger Tel: +44 (0)1782 733337 email: [email protected]

The Birchall Centre

Keele University

UK


The Birchall Centre, Keele University, UK, 2013

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Table of Contents

1- Introduction p. 2 2- Members List p. 3 3- News Update p. 6 4- Research Highlights p. 7 5- Projects and Grants p. 11 6- Conferences, Workshops and Presentations p. 12 7- Seminars, Visits and Collaborations p. 14 8- Funding and Acknowledgements p. 16 9- Publications p. 17 10- Key Research Equipment p. 20


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1- The Birchall Centre for Inorganic Chemistry and Materials Science: 1992-2014

The Birchall Centre started its life in 1992 as the Unit for Inorganic Chemistry and Materials Science. It was the idea of the late Professor JD Birchall FRS OBE who along with Dr C Exley and Professor K Kendall FRS came to Keele University following the re-organisation of what was then, the United Kingdom’s largest chemical company, Imperial Chemical Industries, ICI. The Unit was established with the support of Sir Brian Fender (at this time the Vice-Chancellor at Keele) and Sir Ronald Mason (the Chairman of CERAM Research in Stoke-on-Trent). The philosophy behind setting up the Birchall Centre was simple and has not really changed to this day. It was to provide an academic environment in which fundamental and applied sciences across a breadth of fields would both prosper and inform one another. To understand a problem at the fundamental level and to look to apply the knowledge gained within everyday life. The Unit started off with three general themes; Aluminium and Silicon in Biology; Cement Chemistry; and Fuel Cells; and these simply reflected the research interests of its founders, Chris Exley, Kevin Kendall and Derek Birchall. The Unit soon became a ‘Centre’ (being officially opened in 1994 by Sir Geoffrey Wilkinson FRS) before the untimely death of Derek Birchall in late 1995. The Centre was re-named in his honour (by Professor RJP (Bob) Williams FRS) and continues to this day to foster his philosophy of fundamental science informing everyday life. The Birchall Centre today embraces a wide diversity of research interests and though the general themes of inorganic chemistry and materials science still prevail to some extent, all areas of science which fit well with the aforementioned philosophy are always welcome.

Link to the Birchall Centre web page, where further information can be found:

http://www.keele.ac.uk/birchallcentre/

Link to the RSC Materials for Industry - Dereck Birchall Award Launched in 2008:

http://www.rsc.org/ScienceAndTechnology/Awards/MaterialsforIndustryAward/


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2- Members List

“Porous Materials”

Dr Chrystelle Egger Lecturer in Chemistry & Forensic (0.7 FTE)

“Bioinorganic Chemistry of Aluminium and Silicon”

Prof Christopher Exley Professor of Bioinorganic Chemistry

Dr James Beardmore Post-doctoral Researcher

Dr Matthew Mold Post-doctoral Researcher

Krista Jones PhD Student

Ambreen Mirza PhD Student

Emma Shardlow PhD Student

Ian Stokes PhD Student

Gulnar Vasta PhD Student

Iulia Neagu PhD Student

“Computer Modelling of Inorganic Materials”

Dr Rob Jackson Reader in Chemistry Scott Walker PhD Student

Prof. Exley

Dr. Mold Dr. Beardmore


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“Sensors And Materials for Bio/environmental Applications (SAMBA)”

Dr Aleksandar Radu Lecturer in Chemistry & Environmental Sci. Dr Sami Ullah Lecturer in Environmental Sc. (Keele) Lukasz Mendecki PhD Student Tolulope Fayose PhD Student Suzi Pugh Summer Research Student (Funded by Royal Society of Chemistry) Zainab Waqar Ali Summer research student (Dublin Institute of Technology; ERASMUS Exchange)

“Chemical Characterisation of Surfaces”

Dr Frank Rutten Lecturer in Physical Chemistry

Jasim Jamur PhD Student

“Zeolite Research”

Dr Vladimir Zholobenko Senior Lecturer in Chemistry & Forensic Science


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Associate Members of the Birchall Centre

The following have kindly agreed to be Associate Members of the Birchall Centre in recognition of

their contributions to the Centre and also as recipients of the RSC Materials for Industry, Derek

Birchall Award Medal.

RJP (Bob) Williams FRS Professor Emeritus, Chemistry, Oxford

Sir Brian Fender CMG Chairman of the Institute of Knowledge Transfer

Neil M Alford MBE Professor of Engineering, Imperial College, London

WJ (Bill) Clegg Professor of Materials Science and Metallurgy,

Cambridge

Kevin Kendall FRS Professor of Chemical Engineering, Birmingham

Medal Winners (Biennial RSC Award)

Terry McGrail Director, Irish Centre for Composites Research,

Limerick

Medal 2009

John Goodby FRS Professor of Materials Chemistry, York

Medal 2013


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3- News Update The Birchall Centre Committee, 2014

Dr Vladimir Zholobenko Director

Dr Chrystelle Egger Secretary / Web Page Administrator

Dr Aleks Radu BC Colloquium Organiser RSC Materials for Industry - Dereck Birchall Award : Biannual event, none in 2014.


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4- Research Highlights

Ian Stokes and Professor Chris Exley NERC/Keele Acorn – Funded PhD Studentship Silicification in Plants Including Rice We are trying to understand why silica is deposited in plants. To ascertain whether this is a general phenomenon where simply some plants accumulate more silica than others or if there are physiological characteristics which instigate and/or enhance silica deposition. A number of complementary methods have been developed and applied and specifically fluorescence and electron microscopy. An unappreciated observation is that the degree of silicification in plants known as silica accumulators is much greater with silica deposition occurring in a wide breadth of tissues/plant structures (Figure 1). There also appears to be some species specificity, for example while both rice and horsetail accumulate significant amounts of silica the silicification of xylem tissue has only been observed for the former. References: 1. Law C and Exley C (2011) New insight into silica deposition in horsetail (Equisetum arvense). BMC Plant Biology 11, 112.

Figure 1 Scanning electron microscopy image of silica collected following acid and microwave digestion of rice leaf blade and demonstrating myriad silicified structures. The silica tube at the centre of the image is approximately 100 µm in length and 4 µm in diameter.

Figure 2. The image shows silica trichome structures from wild-type Arabidopsis. While the bases are intact, the fragile trichomes have snapped off.


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B- Ambreen Mirza, Prof. Chris Exley Keele Acorn-funded PhD Studentship Measurement and localisation of Aluminium (Al) in human brain tissue.

While the data demonstrating the presence of aluminium in human brain tissue are unequivocal, for example, House et al. (2012), less is understood as to the amount of aluminium which is associated with different neurodegenerative conditions and where exactly aluminium is located. In this research project the aluminium content of brain tissue taken from a range of neurodegenerative conditions is being measured (see Figure 1 below) and a suite of microscopy techniques are being optimised and applied to confirm its locality. Particular emphasis is being placed upon the use of fluorescence microscopy to identify aluminium and the optimisation of this technique to provide unequivocal evidence of its location within brain tissue. The latter, using primarily the fluor lumogallion, involves taking account of false positives and the influence of competitive cations on the aluminium-induced fluorescence of lumogallion. An example of the application of lumogallion to the identification of aluminium in human brain tissue is given in Figure 2. Figure 1: Transversely heated graphite furnace atomic absorption spectrometry is used to measure aluminium in human

brain tissue 2.

Figure 2: The image shows a 5!m section of an inferior parietal lobe at x200 magnification. a: Light image showing no autofluorescence. b: Orange fluorescence is observed after 24h of incubation in lumogallion, under a NIB filter.

References:

1. Exley, C., & House, E. R. (2012). Aluminium in the human brain (pp. 95-101). Springer Vienna. 2. House, E., Esiri, M., Forster, G., Ince, P. G., & Exley, C. (2012). Aluminium, iron and copper in human brain tissues donated to the

medical research council's cognitive function and ageing study. Metallomics, 4(1), 56-65.


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C- Dr Chrystelle Egger (co-ordinator) MSCA-ITN-ETN: Proposal Submitted January 2015: “Tailor-Made ElectRodes and Materials for AssaYs used in Detection and Sensing, MERMAYDS”. Assessment expected June 2015.

The 21st century is a world of sensors and assays, where rapid but efficient methods of detection are required in applications ranging from the consumption of illegal substances in sports to food contamination for instance, as recent scandals have brought to the public’s attention. Such societal challenges (food security, secure societies) are of critical concern to the EU and are becoming more and more the focus of major analytical and chemical industries. The outputs of the MERMAYDS project will help to address: (i) Novel assays design; (ii) Rationalisation of reaction mechanisms; (iii) Industrial applications for the successful and selective detection of ions and small molecules. Indeed, materials chemistry is more and more at the forefront of sensors and assays design, through the creation of nanoporous sensors or fluorescent nanoparticles with applications in the detection of trace-level nitroaromatic explosives for instance1. What is often lacking though is a rational design of a particular electrode or sensor with a given function, based on a clear understanding of the necessary attributes for: (i) the materials, (ii) the recognition process itself, and also for (iii) the real case scenarios in which to apply such assays/sensors. This proposal offers a unique strategy tackling the innovative design of novel tests and sensing devices based on different materials and methodologies but also on a very detailed understanding of the structure and function of the assays through original in-situ characterisation experiments. Indeed, complex MAS NMR experiments in

partnership with Bruker Biospin (the largest NMR manufacturer in Europe) as well as numerous advanced X-ray scattering techniques will be employed to access both the structure and the function of the sensors and assays. The proposed consortium will bring together complementary and very strong expertise from across Europe to offer new technologies for the selective detection

of given ions and small molecules at trace and ultra-trace levels. Moreover, the consortium understands the importance of testing such sensors in manufacturing processes, so our industrial beneficiaries will be leading the work in areas such as scale formation and water decontamination. Also, the experimental approaches will be supported by statistical work on the resolution improvement of ion selective electrodes (ISEs) through Bayesian modelling. The main Scientific Objectives of MERMAYDS are: SO1 To exploit the thermal-resistance of unusual polymer matrices in the preparation of

ISEs with a working range > 40ºC. SO2 To exploit novel synthetic methods in the preparation of highly porous polymeric

networks with high specific surface areas and tailored functionality. SO3 To develop new sensors and assays based on the materials prepared in SO1 and SO2 for the selective and powerful detection of ions and small molecules. SO4 To understand in-situ the mechanisms of formation of such materials in an iterative approach towards the rational design of such assays and sensors. SO5 To understand in-situ the interaction process between the ion or the molecule and the sensors and assays. SO6 To test and optimise our newly designed “detectors” in real environments. 1 Zhang W., J. Hazardous Mat., 2012, 221-222, 147-154.

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D- Dr Benjamin Schazmann, Dr Aleksandar Radu New Ionic Liquid and PVC-Ionic Liquid hybrid materials for general uses including drug delivery and applications in chemical sensing A close link established with Dr Schazmann from Dublin Institute of Technology (DIT) resulted in efforts on development of new ionic-liquid based materials aimed to be used as matrixes for novel ion-selective sensors. Based on previous work, it was thought that ionic liquids as materials have excellent potential for improving existing technologies and for developing novel ion-selective sensors. The characteristics of the material as sensor matrix have been studied by Zainab Waqar Ali, ERASMUS student from DIT. Initial results showed that the stability and robustness of the sensors is significantly improved relative to the existing ones. Moreover, the sensor has been shown to demonstrate excellent selectivity for iodide ions hence opening the possibility for its utilisation in clinical analysis of urinary iodine. Initial results on materials recently synthesised and characterised were very exciting and a patent has been filed on 09/09/2014.


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5- Projects and Grants Dr Chrystelle Egger Submitted Grant, CCE as Co-ordinator. Action: MSCA-ITN-ETN, Proposal Number 675828, Submitted 13/01/2015, "2 091 920.76. Tailor-Made ElectRodes and Materials for AssaYs used in Detection and Sensing, “MERMAYDS” Prof Christopher Exley 1. A mechanism of formation and aggregation of hydroxyaluminosilicates. Funded by EPSRC (Project ended 30/11/2014) and Santander. 2. The bioinorganic chemistry of aluminium adjuvants. Funded by MRC, Dwoskin Foundation and Keele ACORN fund. 3. Silica deposition in plants and especially rice. Funded by NERC. 4. Silicon-rich mineral waters as non-invasive therapies for multiple sclerosis and other aluminium-related disorders. Funded by Spritzer Mineral Water Co. and Keele ACORN Fund. 5. Infant feeding and the body burden of aluminium. Funded by Children’s Medical Research Institute (CMRI) and Keele ACORN fund. 6. Measurement and identification of aluminium in human tissue. Funded by Children’s Medical Research Institute (CMRI) and Keele ACORN fund. 7. Aluminium adjuvants and immunotherapy. Funded by Allergy Therapeutics and Keele ACORN fund. Dr Rob Jackson Computer modelling of actinide oxides for energy applications (funded by the Atomic Weapons Establishment) This project is involved with modelling nuclear fuel materials including UO2 and PuO2, and is aimed at predicting the properties of the mixed oxide (MOX) fuel PuxU1-xO2. Dr Aleksandar Radu 1- Tuneable, ionic liquid-based sensors for monitoring iodide in urine (Royal Society; December 2012-December 2013; £8990) 2- Development of methodology for measuring dielectric constant of ionic liquid-based ion-selective electrodes (Royal Society of Chemistry; summer 2014; £1440) 3- Externally-modulated chemical sensors (EPSAM; 2013-2016; £30 000) 4- IBS Network (Marie Curie IRSES funded project; "279 000; 01/01/2014 – 31/12/2017). Dr Frank Rutten PADI-MS ambient mass spectrometry for rapid in-situ reaction monitoring, MOHESR scheme, i.e. funded by the Iraqi ministry of culture


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Dr. Vladimir Zholobenko Catalysis and characterisation of zeolites and nanostructured materials, application of spectroscopic techniques in analytical sciences. 1. Structural studies of the organic-inorganic self-assembly during the synthesis of mesoporous materials. Aim: to investigate the formation kinetics of silica and titania based nanostructured materials. 2. Microwave synthesis of nanoporous materials, utilizing research microwave systems, MARS-6 multimode and Biotage single-mode Microwave Systems (£30,000 industrial funding) 3. Characterisation of asbestos containing material (jointly with Dr. F. Rutten). This extensive work programme, which aims to demonstrate spectroscopic approaches to the identification of asbestos containing materials, has been supported by the EPSRC and industry. There is a potential for further industrial collaboration and commercial exploitation of the data obtained. 4. Characterisation of materials. This is a confidential project - details are not available at present. 5. Catalytic materials for bio-diesel production. This is a collaborative project with Mugla University, Turkey. 6. Evaluation of novel composite materials for the Fisher-Tropsch synthesis. This is a collaboration with Lille University, France. 7. Food security: spectroscopic characterisation of meat products (jointly with Dr. D. Thompson, Keele, and Thermo Scientific).


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6- Conferences, Workshops and Presentations Dr Rob Jackson RAJ and Scott Walker attended the European Conference on Defects in Insulating Materials (Canterbury, Kent, 13-19 July 2014). Dr Aleksandar Radu attended the session on Ionophore-Based Sensor at PittCon 2014 in Chicago, USA (March 2nd – 6th 2014). The visit was used also as the kick-off meeting for the IBS Network project. Dr Frank Rutten FJMR chaired a session at the inaugural British Mass Spectrometry special interest group meeting on Ambient Mass Spectrometry at the National Physical Laboratory (Teddington, UK, Nov 27th 2014). Dr Vladimir Zholobenko

Dr. V. Zholobenko attended Meeting of the French Zeolite Group, May 2014, Caen, France.

Dr. V. Zholobenko participated in the 6th European Zeolite Conference FEZA, September 2014, Leipzig, Germany.


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7- Seminars, Visits and Collaborations

Prof C. Exley: Visits and Lectures

1- CE gave an invited lecture and participated in a research meeting in Lille, France. 2- CE gave evidence in the Coroners Court in Taunton on the brain aluminium content of a man dying following an epileptic fit. 3- CE and ES gave invited lectures at Autoimmunity in Nice, France. 4- CE gave evidence to the French Government in Paris on the role of aluminium as adjuvants in vaccines. 5- CE gave invited lectures in Copenhagen and Munich on aluminium adjuvants in immunotherapy. 6- CE gave an invited talk in Berlin at the Bundesinstitut für Risikobertung.

Prof C. Exley: Current External Research Collaborations 1. Computational chemistry of aluminium (Professors Jesus Ugalde and Xabier Lopez, University of San Sebastian, Spain). 2. Immunobiology of aluminium adjuvants (Professors Håkan Eriksson, University of Malmo, Sweden, and Peter Siesjö, University of Lund, Sweden). 3. Macrophagic myofasciitis, MMF (Professors Romain Gherardi and Francois-Jérome Authier, University of Paris Est, Créteil, France). 4. IBD and Crohn’s disease (Professors Cécile Vignal and Mathilde Body-Malapel, University of Lille 2, Lille, France). 5. Breast cancer (Professor Nicole Concin and Ms Caroline Linhart, Innsbruck Medical University, Austria). 6. Diabetes (Professor Paul Fraser, University of Toronto, Canada). 7. Bees and aluminium (Professor David Goulson, University of Sussex, UK). 8. Animal models of aluminium toxicity (Professors Vera Morsch and Maria Rosa Chitolina, Federal University of Santa Maria, Brazil, CE’s group hosted four researchers from Brazil as part of an on-going collaboration).

Dr Rob Jackson

Giordano Da Cunha Bispo from the Federal University of Sergipe, Brazil is visiting RAJ for 9

months for collaborative research on mixed metal oxides for luminescence applications.

Dr Aleksandar Radu Under the IBS Network project, Lukasz spent 6 months in the group of Dr Granados-Focil at Clark University, USA on a research visit. The aim of the secondment was to develop a sensor for direct determination of carbonate in sea water. During the secondment Lukasz has also worked very closely with Dr Christina McGraw from University of New England, Australia with whom Dr Radu already has a very well-established collaboration. The visit was very productive and a methodology was developed that enables development of carbonate sensor with ~10-10M detection limit. This sensor was later used in the direct measurement of carbonate in artificial water.


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Dr Vladimir Zholobenko:

VZ gave a presentation at Johnson Matthey research centre, Feb. 2014, UK

VZ gave a presentation at Total research centre, June 2014, Belgium.

VZ gave a presentation at Caen University, June 2014, France.

VZ visited Lille University, June 2014, France.

VZ visited Thermo Scientific research laboratories, April 2014, UK.

VZ hosted Prof. Hamdi Karaoglu from Mugla University, Turkey, June-Sept. 2014.


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8- Funding and Acknowledgements Allergy Therapeutics

Analytical Chemistry Research Trust

AWE

CMRI

CNRS

Donations from private individuals

EPSAM / ISTM

EPSRC

ESRC

Keele ACORN fund

HEFCE

Johnson Matthey

Royal Society

Santander

Staffordshire County Council

Thermo Scientific

Veolia


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9- Publications

1) Minshall C, Nadal J and Exley C. Aluminium in human sweat Journal of Trace Elements in Medicine and Biology, 2014, 28, 87-88.

2) Exley C Aluminium adjuvants and adverse events in sub-cutaneous allergy immunotherapy Allergy, Asthma and Clinical Immunology, 2014, 10, 4.

3) Exley C and Vickers T. Elevated brain aluminium and early onset Alzheimer’s disease in an individual occupationally exposed to aluminium: a case report. Journal of Medical Case Reports, 2014, 8, 41.

4) Everett J, Cespedes E, Shelford LR, Exley C, Collingwood JF, Dobson J, van der Laan G, Jenkins CA, Arenholz E and Telling ND. Evidence of redox-active iron formation following aggregation of ferrihydrite and the Alzheimer’s disease peptide b-amyloid. Inorganic Chemistry, 2014, 53, 2803-2809.

5) Everett J, Cespedes E, Shelford LR, Exley C, Collingwood JF, Dobson J, van der Laan G, Jenkins CA, Arenholz E and Telling ND, Ferrous iron formation following the co-aggregation of ferric iron and the Alzheimer’s disease peptide b-amyloid. Journal of the Royal Society Interface, 2014, 11, 20140165.

6) Exley C. What is the risk of aluminium as a neurotoxin? Expert Review of Neurotherapeutics, 2014, 14, 589-591.

7) Exley C and Sjöberg S. Silicon species in seawater. Spectrochimica Acta Part A, 2014, 117, 820-821.

8) Exley C. Aluminium. In Binding, Transport and Storage of Metal Ions in Biological Cells. Ed. W Maret and AG Wedd, Royal Society of Chemistry, Cambridge, 2014, 833-842.

9) Mold M, Eriksson H, Siesjö P, Darabi A, Shardlow E and Exley C. Unequivocal identification of intracellular aluminium adjuvant in a monocytic THP-1 cell line. Scientific Reports, 2014, 4, 6287.

10) Klein JP, Mold M, Mery L, Cottier M and Exley C. Aluminium content of human semen: Implications for semen quality. Reproductive Toxicology, 2014, 50, 43-48.

11) Exley C. Why industry propaganda and political interference cannot disguise the inevitable role played by human exposure to aluminium in neurodegenerative diseases, including


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Alzheimer’s disease. Frontiers in Neurology, 2014, 5:212. doi: 10.3389/fneur.2014.00212.

12) P Dessovic, P Mohn, R A Jackson, G Winkler, M Schreitl, G Kazakov, T Schumm 229Thorium-doped calcium fluoride for nuclear laser spectroscopy. Journal of Physics: Condensed Matter, 2014, 26, 105402 DOI 10.1088/0953-8984/26/10/105402

13) M S D Read, S R Walker, R A Jackson Derivation of enhanced potentials for plutonium dioxide and the calculation of lattice and intrinsic defect properties. Journal of Nuclear Materials, 2014, 448 (1-3), 20-25 http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.jnucmat.2014.01.020

14) P Fielitz, G Borchardt, S Ganschow, R Bertram, R A Jackson, H Fritze, K D Becker Tantalum and niobium diffusion in single crystalline lithium niobate Solid State Ionics, 2014, 259, 14-20 http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.ssi.2014.02.005

15) M Mujaji, J Burrows, R A Jackson Optical spectroscopy of the Nd3+ and Nd3+ - Gd3+/Yb3+ centres in BaF2 single crystals and calculations on lanthanide-doped BaF2 Journal of Luminescence, 2014, 151, 106-110 http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.jlumin.2014.02.011

16) M P Hehlen, W L Boncher, S D Melgaard, M W Blair, R A Jackson, T E Littleford, S P Love Preparation of high-purity LiF, YF3, and YbF3 for laser refrigeration Proc. SPIE 9000, Laser Refrigeration of Solids VII, 900004 (February 19, 2014) DOI:10.1117/12.2039547

17) R M Araujo, M E G Valerio, R A Jackson Computer simulation of metal co-doping in lithium niobate Proc. R. Soc. A, 2014, 470, 20140406 DOI: 10.1098/rspa.2014.0406

18) M V S Rezende, M E G Valerio, R A Jackson Study of Eu3+! Eu2+ reduction in BaAl2O4:Eu prepared in different gas atmospheres Materials Research Bulletin, 2014, 61, 348-351.

19) Hoole D., Khalil M., Furness D., Zholobenko V. Effect of tapeworm parasitisation on cadmium toxicity in the bioindicator copepod, Cyclops strenuous, Ecological Indicators, 2014, v.37, p.21-26.


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Patents 20) Dr Benjamin Schazmann and Dr Aleksandar Radu

European Patent Application No: 14184047.0 Filing Date: 9 September 2014

Media and Press-releases Two German TV companies visited Prof. Chris Exley in making separate documentaries on aluminium. Both documentaries were screened in 2014 and the details are available on CE’s website: http://www.keele.ac.uk/aluminium/


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10- Key Research Equipment within the Birchall Centre Protege 460 FTIR spectrometer equipped with transmittance vacuum in situ cell, diffuse reflectance in situ accessory, attenuated total reflection attachments and a high sensitivity MCT detector, (spectral range ~ 600 to 7000 cm-1, resolution from 1 to 32 cm-1). This instrument is specifically set up for the characterisation of solid materials, including “soft” solids, under in situ conditions, e.g. under vacuum or high pressure and elevated temperatures up to ~700oC.

MARS-6 multimode and Biotage single-mode microwave systems equipped with a range of teflon and glass vessels for accelerated synthesis or digestion of a range of organic and inorganic materials. The process conditions are monitored by temperature probes and pressure sensors.

Antaris II near infrared spectrometer is a versatile instrument for the identification and characterisation of inorganic materials, polymers, pharmaceuticals, etc., and for process monitoring. The instrument is equipped with a diffuse reflectance attachment, transmission cells and an external fibre optic probe for remote analyses. (Spectral range 4000 - 10000 cm-1. Resolution 2 - 32 cm-1).


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Autosorb C1, Quantachrome is a highly sophisticated gas sorption analyzer for surface area analysis and pore size measurements (Pore size range: 0.5 to 20 nm).

AutoPore IV 9500 Series, Micromeritics, characterises a material’s porosity by applying various levels of pressure to a sample immersed in mercury. The pressure required to intrude mercury into the sample’s pores can go up to 30 000 psi (Pore size range: 0.003 to 360 micrometers).

Perkin Elmer AAnalyst 600 Graphite Furnace Atomic Absorption Spectrometer with AS 800 autosampler is able to measure the concentration of several elements in samples. The spectrometer and furnace are controlled automatically by computer software, which is able to automatically select and align any of the eight installed lamps. The furnace features a transversely heated graphite atomiser with protective inert gas stream. A modulated magnetic field oriented longitudinally to the optical path is used for Zeeman-effect background correction. The device also features fume extraction and circulatory cooling systems. It is used extensively for the detection of Al and Si, where it is capable of detecting concentrations as low as 1µg/L.


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Malvern ZetaSizer Nano ZS is a computer-controlled particle-sizer that uses dynamic light scattering and electrophoresis to estimate the sizes and zeta potentials of particles undergoing Brownian motion in solution. It is able to measure samples from 12.0µL to 1.5mL and its detection range is from 0.3nm - 10.0µm particle diameter for size measurements, and from 3.8nm - 100µm for zeta potential measurements. The minimum particle-concentration required varies based on the optical properties of the sample. It has been used to observe the growth of aluminium hydroxide and hydroxyaluminosilicates, the aggregation of peptides, the properties of adjuvant preparations, and to check for consistency of size of commercially-available nanoparticles when introduced into biological media.

Olympus BX50 upright microscope allows for both light and fluorescence images to be taken in both modes at magnifications up to X1000, via use of an oil immersion objective. The microscope is equipped with a BX-FLA reflected light fluorescence attachment equipped with a mercury burner and a vertical illuminator. This allows for fluorescence imaging at specified spectral ranges spanning from the UV to longer visible light wavelengths. Specialist filter cubes allow for fluorescent imaging of both biological and plant tissues amongst other samples that have been either labelled or stained with certain fluorophores. The microscope is also fitted with a ColorView III digital camera from Olympus Soft Imaging Solutions allowing for image acquisition and analysis on the Cell D software suite.

Lawson labs, EMF 16, Electrochemistry EMF interphase. It is a high-resolution, high input impedance, data acquisition system for electrochemistry applications. It connects to a PC serial port for presentation and storage of EMF data. It allows up to 16 channels of data to be scanned and displayed. Linearity is 0.002% of full scale, input impedance is 1013 ohms, reproducibility is better than one part per million. BNC connectors are provided for the 16 buffered inputs and for the buffered reference electrode.


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Ivium CompactStat.e: Portable Electrochemical Interface & Impedance Analyser. The CompactStat.e offers a complete package, all the standard Electrochemical techniques are included. The CompactStat also has an integrated high-performance Frequency Response Analyser for EIS measurements from 10!Hz to 3MHz. The CompactStat.e is equipped with the Multiplexer that has 8 channels.

!Kratos Amicus X-ray photo electron spectrometer (XPS) equipped with full catalyst sample preparation cell and Mg anode (1253.6 eV). Instrument capable of quantifying elements in the top 10 nm of a solid sample as well as electronic interactions (such as oxidation states of metals, C-O or C=O moieties). This instrument can be used to analyse solid samples from powders to films up to a thickness of ca. 1 cm and with similar lateral dimensions. Samples can be conducting or insulators and need to be vacuum-compatible. This instrument is non-monochromated, but still capable of an energy resolution of ca. 0.15 eV. The XPS has now been equipped with a new chiller and detector. A campus license of the CasaXPS data analysis package is now also available. Please contact FJMR for further information.

CONTACT INFORMATION

Birchall CentreLennard-Jones LaboratoriesKeele UniversityKeele ST5 5BGStaffordshireUK

Centre DirectorDr Vladimir Zholobenko Tel: +44 (0)1782 734352 email: [email protected]

SecretaryDr Chrystelle Egger Tel: +44 (0)1782 733337 email: [email protected]

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