Chemistry and Physics of Complex Systems Facility
At the Chemistry and Physics of Complex Systems Facility, resident and visiting EMSL users conduct fundamental research in the natural sciences to provide the basis for new and improved energy technologies and for understanding and mitigating the environmental impacts of energy use and contaminant releases. Specific research activities include
- developing molecular information about processes that occur at interfaces among environmentally important liquids, solids, and gases
- obtaining a mechanistic understanding of chemical transformations driven by thermal, radioactive, or optical sources
- providing a molecular-level understanding of solvation and subsequent reactions in systems related to complex wastes, contaminated solids and groundwater, and other natural systems
- performing single-molecule spectroscopy and high-resolution imaging techniques for studying biological systems
- developing instrumentation for real-time analysis of chemical and biological, natural or human-made species.
Major components of this facility that are available to EMSL users include the following:
- Instrumentation to study energetic reaction processes at surfaces and in solids that is dedicated to understanding photoreactivity in the condensed phase, on surfaces, and at material interfaces.
- Trace Effluent Detection System, including an ultrasensitive gas analyzer called the Sniffer that provides accurate, real-time quantification of most atmospheric species in a compact, field-deployable unit.
- Room Temperature UHV Scanning Tunneling Microscope, designed to study the structure of clean solid surfaces as a function of sample preparation.
- Variable Temperature UHV Scanning Tunneling Microscope, designed to study the structure of both clean and adsorbate-covered solid surfaces.
Many additional pieces of equipment are also available for use at the Chemistry and Physics of Complex Systems Facility. See also the cell imaging capabilities for systems biology research, previously part of the Cellular Observatory.
Staff of the Chemistry and Physics of Complex Systems Facility
Virtual Tours of Chemistry and Physics of Complex Systems facilities
Contact: Roy Gephart (509-371-6142), cpcs@emsl.pnl.gov
