x-ray

X-ray Diffraction Laboratory :

X-ray diffraction is a versatile analytical technique used to determine the atomic-scale structure of materials. A brief introduction to the principles of x-ray diffraction can be found here: X-ray diffraction

The x-ray Lab in the Department of Physics at CMU is specialized in studying materials with substantial intrinsic disorder ranging from liquids, clusters, polymers, glasses, NANOCRYSTALS to ill-ordered crystals. In house X-ray diffraction experiments are carried out on an X'Pert PRO diffractometer.

$X'pert diffractometer$

Experiments using synchrotron (high-energy) x-ray radiation are carried out at the Advanced Photon Source, Argonne and Brookhaven National Laboratory.

State-of-the-art software such as Materials Studio from Accelrys and many shareware programs are used to model the 3D structure and predict the properties of materials.

The Lab has a sample preparation area including chemical hoods, furnaces and mills.
Those are used when necessary. Most samples come from collaborators. Some are listed below:

Central Michigan University (polymers and nanoparticles)
Michigan State University (nanophase silicates, catalysts)
University of Nebraska/Lincoln (nanomagnets)
   University of Binghamton (nanotubes)
   Penn State University (nanocarbons)
Ohio State University (ceramics/oxides of transition metals)
Max-Planck Institute of Colloids, Potsdam, Germany (nanomaterials)
       Iowa State University (glasses)
       University of Texas, Austin (nanopartilces)
     and many others .....

Funding:

NSF: MWN - Fast Ion conductors/glasses (2007-2010)
NSF: Disordered oxidic and non-oxidic materials (2002-2005)
NSF/NIRT: Structure of nanocrystals (2003-2007)
ARL/CMU Center for dendritic nanotechnologies (2003-2005)

Current members of the x-ray diffraction group:

Dr. Valeri Petkov

Dr. Daniel Le Messurier
(Post-Doc)

Research topic:

Structure of glasses

Vindu Kathriarachchi
(Grad student)

Research topic:

X-ray studies of materials

Daniel O'Brien (grad. student)

Research Topic:

Reverse Monte Carlo Modeling

Former Group members:

Dr. Swapan Pradhan
(former visiting professor)

Back to
his home University in India

Dr. Milen Gateshki
former (post-doc)

Now scientists at Bragg Institute, Australia

Reni Monova
(former grad. student)

Now in Australia

Edward Adedeme
(former grad. student)

Now in oil industry, Texas

Gabriel Ghita (former grad. student)

Now a Ph.D. student at University of Florida

Dr. Vencislav
Parvanov
(former post-doc)

Now scientist at the Pasific Northwest National Laboratory

Dr. Yong Peng
(former post-doc)

Now at the Virginia Commonwealth University