Mark Schlossman
University of Illinois Chicago, IL·Chemistry
Many key problems in chemistry, materials and biology come down to structure at the scale of atoms and molecules. Examples include how a catalyst works, how a protein binds a cell membrane, and how ions arrange at an electrode.
- Fields
Chemistry
Physics
Materials Science
- Topics
synchrotron
X-ray scattering
ChemMatCARS
- Grants
- 1 known grant, through Jul 2027
What they work on
- Design and build a second beamline at ChemMatCARS, with two experimental stations fed by an independent superconducting undulator, the magnet device that generates the X-ray beam, doubling available beamtime.
- Develop serial X-ray crystallography of small molecules to capture atomic-scale structural changes during irreversible chemical and physical reactions.
- Extend resonant X-ray diffraction to lower energies to cover all 3d and 4d transition metals, supporting the search for earth-abundant replacements for precious-metal catalysts.
- Build instruments to study liquid–solid interfaces and nanoscale variation in liquid surfaces, using techniques such as scanning transmission interfacial scattering and coherent X-ray surface imaging.
More about the research
Very bright synchrotron X-rays, produced by particle accelerators, can reveal these structures. NSF's ChemMatCARS is a national user facility at the Advanced Photon Source at Argonne National Laboratory. It gives outside scientists access to such X-ray techniques for research in chemistry, materials science, bioengineering, environmental engineering and molecular biosciences.
Why it matters
Expanded X-ray capabilities could help researchers develop catalysts made from cheap, earth-abundant metals instead of precious ones, improve water purification, and understand electrolyte–electrode interactions for energy technologies. The facility will also help explain how proteins interact with cell membranes during signaling and transport. Doubled beamtime lets a larger national community of scientists pursue these problems.
Known grants
From NIH and NSF research grants. Labs often have other funding we can't see.
Closest labs
Malcolm Capel
Cornell University, NY·Biophysics
Provide and staff round-the-clock on-site and remote user access to two macromolecular crystallography beamlines at the Advanced Photon Source, including training and outreach by staff scientists.
Jian Liu
Rochester Institute of Technology, NY·Chemistry
Measure the adsorption and desorption thermodynamics and kinetics of polar and nonpolar molecules in hierarchically nanoporous metal-organic frameworks, and show that liquid-liquid interfaces form inside the pores.
Izabela Szlufarska
University of Wisconsin-Madison, WI·Materials Science
Determine how chemical and structural complexity across multiple length scales controls the processing, microstructural evolution and performance of high-temperature structural materials, including refractory metals, ceramics and composites.
The school
University of Illinois Chicago: 42 labs on PI Pages, $532M a year on research, 359 research doctorates a year.
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