UK University Awarded Grant to Purchase Spectrometer

The University of Brighton (UK) has been awarded almost a quarter of a million pounds to buy a state-of-the-art instrument which could help develop new ways to treat sites contaminated with pollutants.

The cutting-edge spectrometer will study chemical reactions and structures at the nanoscale – about one-billionth of a metre. The university beat competition from institutions across the UK for the special capital funding from the Natural Environment Research Council (NERC).

Professor Andrew Cundy, the university’s Professor of Geoscience, said: “We are very excited by this award – it will provide us with some of the closest-ever examination of geochemical and other reactions at the nanoscale. This, for example, could lead to the introduction of new ways to improve environmental quality and treat contaminated sites. This is an extremely prestigious and highly competitive award from a research council, and we see this as an immediate return on the university’s investment of almost £400,000 in its nanomaterials group.”

Reactions at the nanoscale are critical in the formation and accumulation of a range of metal resources, in the environmental cycling and clean-up of key pollutants, and in understanding the interaction between environmental contaminants and biological materials. 

Dr Raymond Whitby, the grant instigator, said: “This is an excellent opportunity to bring disparate research groups together and push the boundaries of analytical surface science for a multitude of disciplines.”

The new spectrometer is an X-ray Photoelectron Spectrometer (XPS). A typical XPS can only resolve data acquisition over one or two micrometres (a micrometre is one-millionth of a metre), but the new instrument will obtain data with resolutions below 100 nanometers, representing a major breakthrough for laboratory-based environmental science research. The new instrument is expected to be delivered in the summer.

Professor Phil Ashworth, Director of Research & Development (Life & Physical Sciences), said the instrument will underpin the delivery of “world class environmental science, generating exciting scientific discovery and building an effective capability to sustain high quality research”.

“The NERC award was a tremendous vote of confidence in nanomaterials research at Brighton – the funding call had only a 22 per cent success rate for 121 bids from 62 research organisations across the UK.” 

Professor Cundy, who co-ordinates the university’s cross-disciplinary research group in smart nanomaterials, said the spectrometer will allow X-rays to be focussed and pulsed on to samples ranging from nano-particles and minerals to biological materials, enabling scientists to probe sensitive environmental and biological samples: “We expect big things by interrogating small samples.”

He said it will allow detailed chemical studies of recycled materials and analysis of metals and processing products, enabling more sustainable uses of natural resources; in-depth study of nanoscale particles and their impact on the environment and human health; studies of the interactions between nano-particles and geological and biological materials; and the implementation of the next generation of analytical tools for nanoscale analysis.

Professor Sergey Mikhalovsky, the university’s Professor of Materials Chemistry, said the university will coordinate a South East regional consortium working in nanotechnology and will arrange for the world-leading equipment to be available for academic use and commercial hire.

The university’s smart nanomaterials group, which draws members from the Schools of Art and Design, Pharmacy and Biomolecular Sciences, and Environment and Technology, recently received £400,000 of university funding to accelerate progress in nanoscale research. This included £274,000 to fund extra equipment for the spectrometer and £120,000 for two PhD studentships.