Log in


Forgot your password?
 

Laboratory Facilities

Department of Chemistry & Biochemistry at BYU - Juliana Boerio-Goates - Publications

Text Box:  Calorimeters
One traditionally gets at entropies by integrating the heat capacity as . We measure the heat capacity to temperatures as low as 0.6 K in one cryostat and have three others for work at higher temperatures. Three of the four are home-built calorimeters that have an accuracy and precision comparable to the best available in the world. The low-temperature semi-adiabatic apparatus operates from 0.5 # T/K # 100. In this region solid-state phenomena such as magnetic transitions, superconductivity, charge and spin-density waves, take place. We have two calorimeters, one just developed, that cover the temperature range from 10 # T/K # 400. The high accuracy of this instrument up to 400 K allows accurate enthalpy increments and third-law entropies to be calculated. These apparati are used to study solid-state phenomena of interest (structural and magnetic phase transitions, for example) between 30 # T/K # 400. For higher temperature work, we have a Netsch differential scanning calorimeter (DSC) that is capable of measurements up to 800 K, on small samples (few mg) but with reduced accuracy and precision. In some problems, we combine results from all three types of calorimeters.

Low Temperature Calorimeter

Text Box:

Synthetic Facilities
We have a variety of furnaces available for doing classical “beat and heat” synthesis and single crystal growth, and we can also do sol-gel and hydrothermal techniques for nanoparticle synthesis. Air and/or water sensitive samples are handled in a large Ar-filled glove box in which the water and oxygen contents are kept below 1 ppm.

Sample Characterization Facilities

BYU is well-equipped to do modern materials characterization. In 2004 alone, two new Transmission Electron Microscopes (TEM) and a new X-ray Diffractometer (XRD) capable of temperature dependent single crystal structure refinements were purchased. Our group makes use of thermogravimetry (TG), X-ray fluorescence (XRF), electron microprobe, photoelectron spectroscopy (PES), visible, infrared and Raman spectroscopies as appropriate for a particular problem. Brunnaeuer-Emmet-Teller (BET) measurements for particle surface area measurements are usually done at U.C. Davis.

Intermediate Temperature Calorimeter

Document Actions
 

© Copyright 2008.