Computer-aided design of the new 15-ID research stations.
NSF’s ChemMatCARS has received renewed funding for operations from the National Science Foundation (NSF) Division of Chemistry (CHE). This latest round of funding awarded to the University of Chicago (Matthew Tirrell, PI) covers operations from September 2024 through August 2029. As described by NSF, ChemMatCARS operates a national user facility for frontier research in chemistry, materials science, biology, and engineering, employing synchrotron x-rays at the U.S. Department of Energy’s (DOE’s) Advanced Photon Source (APS) at the DOE’s Argonne National Laboratory.
Mark Schlossman (Univ. of Illinois at Chicago), co-principal investigator at ChemMatCARS, noted that as ChemMatCARS (which began operations in 2002) has grown over the years, funding by NSF has increased three-fold. “This round of funding,” Schlossman said, “will allow our users to take full advantage of the new research capabilities we’re adding at the beamlines, while building on the strengths of our existing facilities.”
Since April of 2023, ChemMatCARS has been constructing a second beamline consisting of x-ray optics and experimental stations, with funding from a prior grant. This construction is timed to coincide with a major upgrade of the APS x-ray source, known as APS-U. The APS has begun commissioning of the upgraded storage ring and new and improved x-ray beamlines.
The new ChemMatCARS beamline, denoted 15-ID2, will utilize x-rays from a second insertion device (undulator) source which, in combination with the current undulator beamline, 15-ID1, will double the x-ray beam time available to the ChemMatCARS user community to do experiments. (See “The APS Upgrade Opens New Opportunities for NSF’s ChemMatCARS” for a description of ChemMatCARS beamline and instrument upgrades.)
Potentially transformative new capabilities include small-molecule serial crystallography to study reversible and irreversible processes, studies of biomembrane phenomena, and elemental speciation at liquid interfaces. Small x-ray beams will be used to study micro/nanocrystals and to probe liquid interfacial heterogeneities and thin films with transmission interfacial scattering. Lower energy x-rays on the new beamline will extend the capabilities of resonant diffraction to provide complete coverage of 3d and 4d transition metals. The doubling of available beam time will enhance capacity in many scientific areas and enable the development of these new capabilities.
ChemMatCARS addresses the needs of the chemistry and materials research communities for state-of-the-art synchrotron x-ray facilities in the areas of advanced chemical and materials crystallography, liquid interface science, and anomalous small- and wide-angle x-ray scattering. The new capabilities expand the scientific scope by addressing the needs of biologists, chemical engineers, and
biotechnologists. ChemMatCARS provides facilities that are unique in the U.S., and its national and international users benefit from the facility’s distinctive features.