Grant: Research Tools and Instruments

FT-IR Microscopy is an essential tool in analytical chemistry, polymer science, forensic science, and each sub-discipline involved in the characterization of materials. The University of Quebec at Trois--Rivières (UQTR) is experiencing a rapid expansion of its main research units in the natural sciences, around a core of analytical plateforms. The need for a research FT-IR spectrometer with multiple measurement modes (transmission, ATR, specular and diffuse), but especially equipped with a microscope (Micro-FT-IR), is now urgent for supporting more than 70 HQPs. Such an instrument will increase effectiveness and impact of the research due to its motorized stage allowing spectral mapping, and the associated high spatial resolution. A previous NSERC RTI instrument acquired in 2007 is now non-functional and has been discarded, and other alternatives are either obsolete with important technological backlogs, or not on-site which increases the research costs and delays in data acquisition, but also limits hands--on training with HQPs. The instrument represents an indispensable research tool for the three co--applicants and will provide a common analytical platform to realize cutting--edge projects funded by NSERC and improve the efficiency and timeliness of research.