Characterization of Magnetic and Porous Materials Using X-Ray Powder Diffraction

1. Characterization of Magnetic and Porous Materials Using X-Ray Powder Diffraction Catherine Oertel, Oberlin College, DMR 0922588 Acquisition of a Rigaku Ultima IV powder X-ray diffractometer has greatly expanded capabilities for routine and advanced materials characterization by student-faculty research teams. The variable-temperature stage has been used to characterize the kinetics and reversibility of removal of water and other solvents from inorganic-organic framework compounds. The small-angle X-ray scattering (SAXS) attachment has been used to characterize MnO/Mn3O4 nanoparticles. The SAXS data complement small-angle neutron scatting data, providing higher resolution (left). They provide important checks to the SANS data as we characterize ordering in arrays precipitated from solution and explore magnetic correlations in the particles. PIs: Catherine Oertel (Chemistry and Biochemistry), Manish Mehta (Chemistry and Biochemistry), Yumi Ijiri (Physics and Astronomy), Stephen FitzGerald (Physics and Astronomy), F. Zeb Page (Geology)

2. Broader Impacts: Powder Diffraction in Undergraduate Curriculum and ResearchCatherine Oertel, Oberlin College, DMR 0922588 At Oberlin College, a primarily undergraduate institution, the new powder diffractometer is used by undergraduates involved in student-faculty research and by students in laboratory classes. Since the instrument was installed in February 2010, ten undergraduate researchers have received instruction and safety training in order to become direct users of the instrument. In addition, twenty-two students enrolled in Inorganic Chemistry in Spring 2010 were involved in using the instrument to characterize the phase and particle sizes of zinc oxide nanoparticles that they had synthesized in the laboratory. Undergraduate researcher Hannah Fuson ‘11 analyzes data collected on the Rigaku Ultima IV