The Time Of flight Isotopic and elemental Concentration (TOPIC) Facility for nano- to micrometer scale analysis of Earth and anthropogenic materials

用于地球和人类材料纳米至微米级分析的飞行时间同位素和元素浓度 (TOPIC) 设施

• 批准号: NE/T008814/1
• 负责人: Gavin Foster
• 金额: $ 38.23万
• 依托单位: University of Southampton
• 依托单位国家: 英国
• 项目类别: Research Grant
• 财政年份: 2019
• 资助国家: 英国
• 起止时间: 2019 至 无数据
• 项目状态: 已结题
• 来源: https://gtr.ukri.org/projects?ref=NE%2FT008814%2F1
• 关键词: Time; flight; Isotopic; elemental; Concentration

Anthropogenic activities are having a dramatic effect on Earth's climate, its ecosystems and humanity. Although the sum total of these changes manifests at a global scale, many of the processes involved in causing anthropogenic environmental change operate at the micron and nanometre-scale (i.e. 10-1000x smaller than the width of a human hair). This is important because in order for environmental scientists to design strategies to solve these environmental problems we need to first fully understand them, and all the processes involved, across all the relevant scales. Addressing the micron to nano-scale however currently represents a huge analytical challenge that has, up to now, been the preserve of very large and expensive machines such as synchrotrons and nanoSIMS that have limited access. They also frequently require highly specialised sample preparation that prohibits the analysis of some materials and are often challenging to use to obtain fully quantitative analyses. On the other hand, more flexible and/or more readily available techniques such as laser ablation (LA) inductively coupled plasma mass spectrometry (ICPMS) or electron microprobe either don't have the spatial resolution or the detection limits to provide quantitative analysis of elements present at low concentrations on the sub-5 um scale required. In addition, they struggle to quantify the transient signals (frequently less than one second) that result from single micro-/nano-particle analysis. Consequently, developing solutions to some of the most pressing problems on the planet does not simply require more research - it requires a major advance in the capabilities of the tools of research.Here we request funding for a new type of mass spectrometer that combines the flexibility of sample introduction (e.g. solids or liquids) of a traditional ICPMS with the time-resolved capabilities of time of flight mass spectrometry where all elements in a sample are measured simultaneously. This allows for a crucial advance - the accurate and precise full elemental determination of transient ion signals, with resulting potential for: (i) the analysis of single nanoparticles introduced into the ICPMS source one at a time; (ii) the generation of elemental maps of 2D surfaces (and 3D through depth profiling) at a sub-5 um resolution through the simultaneous full elemental analysis of each laser pulse.The potential for such an analytical tool is enormous and the TOPIC facility housed at the University of Southampton will support a number of funded proposals and existing research. It will also enable new research by the UK environmental science community that ranges across NERCs remit from improving reconstructions of climate change over the last 100 years and better determining the sources of air pollution to improving our understanding of the growth of minerals to lock away carbon dioxide from the atmosphere and providing new resources to support green technologies. The facility will not only enrich our existing research in the School of Ocean and Earth Science and the UK science community, but we will also use this unique facility to leverage new research funding including from industry. Access and training will be provided to researchers from across academia and industry, building on our existing extensive collaborative network and commercial activities. By housing the facility in an existing UK and world leading geochemistry group, that is well-supported with considerable expertise with laser ablation and mass spectrometry, we will ensure the maximum value for the investment on behalf of the UK science and technology community.

人为活动对地球的气候，其生态系统和人类产生了巨大影响。尽管这些变化的总和在全球范围内表现出来，但引起人为环境变化的许多过程在微米和纳米尺度上起作用（即比人毛的宽度小10-1000倍）。这很重要，因为为了使环境科学家设计策略来解决这些环境问题，我们首先在所有相关范围内都充分理解它们以及所涉及的所有过程。然而，目前向纳米尺度的微米解决，这是一个巨大的分析挑战，到目前为止，它一直是非常昂贵的机器的保存，例如同步基因和纳米菌素，这些机器的访问有限。他们还经常需要高度专业化的样品制备，以禁止对某些材料进行分析，并且通常具有挑战性地用于获得完全定量的分析。另一方面，更灵活和/或更容易获得的技术，例如激光消融（LA）电感耦合等离子体质谱（ICPMS）或电子微探针，或者没有空间分辨率，或者没有空间分辨率，或者可以在低浓度的元素上提供量子的定量分析。此外，他们难以量化由单个微/纳米粒子分析产生的瞬态信号（通常少于一秒钟）。因此，为地球上某些最紧迫的问题开发解决方案并不需要更多的研究 - 它需要在研究工具的能力方面取得重大进步。我们要求为新型的质谱仪提供资金，以将样品介绍的灵活性（例如固体或液体）（例如，固体或液体）的灵活性（例如，ICPMS的固定能力）与飞行量度的量度相结合。这允许至关重要的进步 - 瞬态离子信号的准确和精确的完整元素确定，从而产生了：（i）一次引入ICPMS源的单纳米颗粒的分析； （ii）通过对每个激光脉冲的同时完整的元素分析，以低于5 UM分辨率的2D表面（以及3D到深度分析）的元素图产生。这种分析工具的潜力是巨大的，而在南安普敦大学所容纳的主题设施将支持许多资金的建议和现有研究。它还将实现英国环境科学界的新研究，该研究范围从NERC中跨越了过去100年来改善气候变化的重建，并更好地确定空气污染的来源，以提高我们对矿物质的理解，以将矿物质的理解锁定在大气中，并提供新的资源，以支持绿色技术。该设施不仅将丰富我们在海洋科学学院和英国科学界的现有研究，而且我们还将利用这种独特的设施来利用包括行业在内的新研究资金。基于我们现有广泛的协作网络和商业活动的基础，将向来自学术界和行业的研究人员提供访问和培训。通过在现有的英国和世界领先的地球化学小组中居住该设施，并以极大的专业知识在激光消融和质谱学方面提供了良好的专业知识，我们将确保代表英国科学和技术社区为投资的最大价值。