Resources for chemical imaging

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Detail from the lab.

Mass spectrometry imaging using MALDI and ToF-SIMS.

For sustainable development, we need to redesign the material basis of our society and economy. To do this we need a deep chemical understanding of the elemental and molecular basis of sustainability to design, build and recycle novel materials. Mass spectrometry imaging (MSI) combines the chemical specificity of mass spectrometry with precise spatial localization down to the nanometer level to give unique insight into material properties. MSI provides an understanding of molecular as well as elemental phenomena at very small scales, at surfaces, interfaces or even in the depth of a material, be that in steel, polymers, batteries, organic electronics, paper, wood or biomaterials

 

SIMS is suitable for a wide variety of applications, for example, grain boundary analysis, characterization of stress corrosion cracking, sub-cellular drug/peptide imaging and nitrogen fixation studies in bacteria.

IONTOF V

The industry standard ToFSIMS 5 imaging instrument from IONTOF is equipped with a bismuth cluster ion gun for nanometer scale imaging along with a Cs/Argon GCIB/O2 sputter guns for depth profiling of organic and inorganic materials.

The instrument is equipped with a reflectron TOF analyser giving high secondary ion transmission with high mass resolution, a sample chamber with a 5-axis manipulator (x, y, z, rotation and tilt) for flexible navigation, a fast entry load-lock, charge compensation for the analysis of insulators, a secondary electron detector for SEM imaging, a state-of-the-art vacuum system, and an extensive computer package for automation and data handling.

  • High imaging resolution with Bi cluster ion source (<75 nm)
  • Outstanding performance for low energy depth profiling (Cs, O2)
  • Argon Gas cluster ion source sputtering (GCIB)
  • Small area depth profiling capabilities
  • FIB-SIMS capabilities 
  • Unmatched dynamic range and detection limit
  • Sophisticated software for ease of operation and data handling

MALDI

Thanks to a recent grant from WISE, the Wallenberg Initiative Materials Science for Sustainability, financed by the Knut and Alice Wallenberg foundation, new capabilities will be added to our platform shortly. Stay tuned for more information.