Key specifications for existing equipment 

Picture 

A.

High Performance Liquid Chromatography (HPLC) 

To separate, identify, and quantify compounds in a mixture. 

• • Maximum operating pressure: 130 MPa;  
  • Temperature range of the column oven: 4 °C - 100 °C; 
  • A Photodiode Array Detector (wavelength at 190 - 800 nm); 
  • A Refractive Index Detector. 
  • A Fraction Collector. 

B.

To measure the amount of discrete wavelengths of UV or visible light that are absorbed by or transmitted through a liquid or solid sample in comparison to a reference or blank sample. 

• • Wavelength range: 185 nm - 3300 nm; 
  • A Tungsten-Halogen and a Deuterium lamp; 
  • A photomultiplier tube detector for UV region;  
  • InGaAs Detector and Cooled PbS detectors for NIR region.

C.

To measure the range of wavelengths in the infrared region that are absorbed by liquid and solid materials. 

• • Wavenumber range: 7800 – 350 cm1; 
  • Single Beam Optics; 
  • DLATGS detector; 
  • An Attenuated Total Reflectance (ATR). 

To include both steady-state and time-resolved dual capabilities.  

• • Steady-state fluorescence and phosphorescence emission measurement (300-1600 nm); 
  • Time-resolved fluorescence measurement (in the visible spectrum); 
  • Dual lamp housing containing a CW 450W Xenon source and UV xenon flash tube.

E.

To measure the viscoelastic properties of soft samples (in air as well in liquid media) under controlled environmental conditions of temperature, pH and relative humidity (RH) 

• • Max. force 18N 
  • Pressure 1000 Pa to 1000 Gpa 
  • RH 5-95% 
  • Deformation amplitude up to 10000μm with resolution of 0.1nm 
  • Temperature -160 °C to 600 °C with ramping rate of <±1⁰C/min 

F.

To measure mass with a sensitivity of ~ng/cm2, monitor energy change, and distinguish between structural changes caused by solvent uptake/release. Integrated with an electrochemistry module and potentiostat to allow for simultaneous QCM-D electrochemistry or QCM-D/Electrochemical Impedance Spectroscopy (EIS) measurements 

• • Acoustic range 1-70 Hz 
  • Maximum mass sensitivity in liquid 0.5 ng/cm2 
  • Max. pressure 200 Bars 
  • Temperature range 4-150 °C 
  • Spectral range of ellipsometer 450-1000 nm 
  • Voltage (current) resolution of potentiostat 3 μV (30 fA) 
  • An optical window to the QCM sensor allows UV induced measurements 

G.

A state of the art bipotentiostat with a broad current and voltage measurement range 

• • Multichannel capabilities to run multiple experiments simultaneously; 
  • Every individual channel is independent; 
  • Voltage measurement (±10 V, ±5 V, ±2.5 V, ±250 mV, ±25 mV); 
  • Current measurement (±1 A down to ±10 nA).

H.

A multifunctional compact scanning system equipped with a Scanning Electrochemical Microscopy (SECM), a Scanning Vibrating System (SVET), a LEIS (Localised Electrochemical Impedance Spectroscope) and a Scanning Kelvin Probe (SKP) 

SECM  

• • Soft disposable electrode: > 50 SECM experiments per probe 
  • Carbon paste as electrode material with electrode diameter >10 µm 
  • Tip sample distance control >2 μm  
  • Modes of operation Constant Distance and Constant Height 

SVET 

• • Electrometer Range ±10V 
  • Radically better Noise Sensitivity (13 fA/√Hz) 
  • Piezo Unit 0-30μm vibration perpendicular to sample 

LEIS 

• • Electrometer Range ±10V 
  • ADC Voltage resolution up to 305μV at X1 gain 
  • Bandwidth ≥ 3 MHz 

SKP 

• • Noise Sensitivity 13fA/ second 
  • Frequency Range 1mHz up to 250 kHz 
  • Full Scale Sensitivity from 10nV to 1V 

Potentiostat (x2) 

• • Bandwidth 1MHz  
  • Max voltage scan range ±10V (resolution 300µV) 
  • Max current scan range ±650mA (resolution 60µA) 
  • Min resolution for voltage measurement 6µV  
  • Min resolution for current measurement 6pA 
  • Frequency range for EIS measurement 10µHz to 1 MHz

I.

Measurement of the zeta potential down to a few millivolt at the solid/liquid interface by means of streaming potential and streaming current measurement.  

• • Streaming potential ±2000 mV  
  • Streaming current ±2 mA  
  • Cell resistance 5 Ω to 20 MΩ  
  • Pressure measurement 3500 mbar 
  • Conductivity 0.1 mS/m to 1000 mS/m 
  • Temperature 20 °C to 40 °C 
  • pH value pH 2 to pH 12 
  • Supported samples Both Porous and Non-porous films, membranes and particles 

J.

A high throughput home-designed setup for automated measurement of membrane permeability to different gaseous mixtures  

• • Flexible membrane module to support membranes of different material, structure and dimensions. 
  • Feedthrough of 7 different test gases, each controlled by individual MFC  
  • Controlled Evaporator Mixer and temperature controller to mix gases in different user-defined concentrations 
  • Integrated with a high-resolution mass spectrometer to identify the permeate gases 

K.

To study reverse osmosis (RO) in membranes using feedwater with variable pH and conductance. Can be applied to investigate potential smart membranes for water purification and ion extraction applications 

• • Can simultaneously measure flow rates in up to 3 separate membrane samples of different material, structure and dimensions 
  • To extract the retentate and permeate flows precisely, the system works using a smart closed loop PID logic to maintain constant pressure across each membrane 
  • Automated measurement with controlled values pH and conductance for the feedwater 

L

For automated contact angle measurement of microscopic small surfaces, surface free energy determination of solids, surface and interfacial tension measurement of liquids

• • Allows contact angle determination from the curvature of a drop according to the top view distance method
  • Can measure both Sessile Drop and Double Sessile Drop
  • Contact angle measurement range: 0-180⁰
  • Contact angle measurement Resolution/accuracy: 0.01⁰ to 5⁰
  • High Resolution and High-Speed CMOS Camera with Resolution: 1920 x 1200 px, 150-2000 fpss
  • Allows Piezo Driven Micro Dosing with Picolitre drops