Grant: Research Tools and Instruments

This NSERC RTI application requests support to upgrade the 12 year old Bruker Apex II single crystal X-ray diffractometer at Brock University, originally purchased through the CFI New Opportunities program in 2004. This upgrade comprises of three components, a high voltage IG250, 19 inch generator to replace the original generator that reached the end of its lifetime six months ago, an upgrade of the original Mo sealed tube to a Mo Microfocus X-ray source, the first of its kind installed on instrumentation within Canada and a 3 year warranty on all replaced parts plus an emergency and/or maintenance visit scheduled for within the contract period to keep the instrumentation running 24/7. Single crystal X-ray diffraction is crucial to the majority of chemistry faculty at Brock. It is THE technique which determines the connectivity between atoms in a molecular solid. It is used by a diverse range of researchers in order to confirm the successful synthesis of a new compound and/or to help understand the chemical reactivity and physical properties of a material. At Brock access to a working X-ray diffractometer is absolutely crucial to the research programs of the applicants and an important technique underpinning the research of several additional minor users. This upgrade will provide Brock researchers with a higher intensity X-ray beam enabling smaller, more weakly diffracting crystals to be measured and reduce the time taken to collect data so that more samples can be screened and measured, making the instrumentation more efficient and cost effective. Undergraduate, graduate and postdoctoral researchers from several groups will receive hands-on training on this instrumentation. This funding will ensure that Brock faculty continue to have access to state-of the-art instrumentation, enabling them to maintain world class research programs and training regimes to train the next generation of high calibre Canadian researchers that will impact both the high technology and traditional manufacturing sectors of the Canadian economy.