Electron Microscopy for Quantum Materials and Nanoscience
Name of applicant
Jesper Nygård
Institution
University of Copenhagen
Amount
DKK 5,000,000
Year
2020
Type of grant
Research Infrastructure
What?
The funding will be used to acquire an advanced microscope that allows researchers to image the structure and composition of materials with extremely high resolution. The vision is to build a versatile facility for transmission electron microscopy with users from physics, nanoscience and chemistry who study a variety of different materials, ranging from catalyst particles to computer chips. The grant from the Carlsberg Foundation complements government funding for Forskningsinfrastruktur.
Why?
Electron microscopy is an essential tool for investigating man-made and natural materials at the highest level of detail. It allows looking at materials down the the atomic level, so with this new instrument, we will be able to see how atoms sit together in complex materials and determine the size and shape of nanoparticles. At the University of Copenhagen a number of research groups are developing new materials with features at the nanoscale. The synthesis of these materials can only be improved if we can get detailed insight into their structure, i.e. we must be able to take pictures with the highest possible resolution. Transmission electron microscopy is best tool for this.
How?
The microscope will be accessible to researchers working on a range of different projects. We have two main activities, addressing quantum materials and nanostructured catalysts, respectively. For the first one, we synthesize materials with properties not found in nature, of interest for fundamental research as well as future quantum technologies. The second vision is to develop materials for renewable energy conversion and synthesis of green fuels and chemicals. For this we will develop new catalysts by mapping the relation between material synthesis, structure and properties. The research is conducted at the Center for Quantum Devices, Center for High Entropy Alloy Catalysis and the Nanoscience Center, University of Copenhagen, and the instrument is hosted by the Niels Bohr Institute.