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Our Laboratories and Research Facilities
Our laboratories are located at the University of Oklahoma's Energy Center Building, which is the largest single facility constructed for higher education in the state. The multidisciplinary approach of the catalytic science is also present in our laboratories, where SWNT production and characterization, catalytic activity tests, catalyst synthesis and characterization play an important role.
Production and On-Line Characterization Lab
This lab hosts our micro-reactor systems, our battery of Temperature-Programmed techniques (TPO, TPR and TPD) as well as out new Bench Scale Reactor for the production of SWNT.
Spectroscopic Characterization Laboratory
This lab hosts our instruments for spectroscopic analysis. An X-Ray Photoelectron Spectrometer (PHI 5800); a Diffuse Reflectance UV-VIS Spectrophotometer (Shimadzu), a Fourier Transform Infrared Spectrophotometer (Bio-Rad) with a diffuse reflectance cell equipped with an in-situ reaction chamber and a Dispersive Raman Spectrophotometer.
Physico-Chemical Characterization Laboratory
The lab hosts our systems for physico-chemical characterization. It is equipped with a Micromeritics ASAP 2000 apparatus for measuring BET surface area, a Chemisorption system, a HP Gas Chromatograph with a MS detector, and a Setaraman differential microcalorimeter DSC 111. The lab also hosts an Astex AX2115 1500W Microwave Power Generator.
Other Facilities
We also rely on a variety of instruments available on campus to perform some of our work. The Sam Noble Electron Microscopy Laboratory, located in the Botany / Microbiology Building, hosts a high-resolution SEM (JEOL 880) and a TEM (JEOL 2000FX) electron microscopes. The School of Chemical Engineering also hosts an Atomic Force Microscope.
In addition, we use the EXAFS facilities at the National Synchrotron Light Source (NSLS) located in Brookhaven National Laboratory (NY). EXAFS experiments have allowed us to determine the crystal structure and details of chemical and physical phase transformations in our catalysts at different stages of the SWNT production process.