‘Thin Film’ XRD (X-Ray Diffractometer) with In-situ Analysis

Tender description

The University of Manchester will be home to a new national research and innovation centre in advanced materials, the Sir Henry Royce Institute (SHRI). The new Institute, supported by industrial partners, will have its Hub in Manchester. The University wishes to appoint a Contractor or Contractors to supply an X-ray diffraction, using X-ray diffractometers suitable for investigating structures of nm-thin films. The XRD apparatus will allow us to investigate the in-plane and out-of-plane crystalline structures of thin films, laminates and membranes (e.g., graphene or graphene oxide membranes) at various conditions such as different temperatures and different solution or solvent environment etc. The understanding of the membrane structure at various conditions is crucial for the optimisation of membrane design for various applications. For example, the inter-layer structure of graphene oxide membrane changes drastically with exposure to different aqueous solutions and this property allow us to tune the graphene capillaries in the graphene oxide membranes. This XRD machine will be critical for the characterisation and functionalization of solution processed large area 2DM van der Waals heterostructures and films for various applications such as photovoltaic, sensors etc.