NIFA EGP: ACQUISITION OF A FIELD EMISSION SCANNING ELECTRON MICROSCOPE TO ACCELERATE NANOTECHNOLOGY ADVANCES IN FOOD, ENERGY, AND WATER RESEARCH

this nifa-egp project will acquire an analytical field emission scanning electron microscope (fe-sem) to conduct a broad range of cutting-edge and innovative research projects in agriculture, biology, chemistry, materials science, and engineering at the university of north carolina greensboro (uncg). the microscope features an in-lens schottky plus field emission electron gun, a next-generation electron optical control system, 'neo engine', and a fully embedded energy-disperive x-ray spectroscopy analyzer, allowing users to perform high resolution imaging and high speed elemental mapping, even at low accelerating voltage of 1 kv. this new microscope will replace our current heavily used but aging fe-sem, which is becoming increasingly difficult to repair. thus, we are seeking funds to not only replace, but also expand on our sem capabilities to better serve our students, postdoctoral researchers, and faculty. the new fe-sem provides the ability to image materials with resolution down to 0.7 nm at high accelerating voltage (20 kv) and 1.3 nm at low accelerating voltage (1 kv), makes it possible to engineer soft and hard materials at the nanoscale, allowing for the development of emerging materials with superior catalytic and redox properties, high interfacial interactions and binding affinities, and better adsorptivity and selectivity. therefore, the new microscope will serve all researchers to propel research innovations through access to the necessary infrastructure that will lead to discovery and creation of new materials for water remediation, biomass conversion, processing, and engineering, and nanotechnology-enabled point-of-use devices, directly aligning with usda-nifa prority programs.