Head: Elies Molins Grau

Webs

• Crystallography Department
  
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• Nanoparticles and Nanocomposites Group
  

This group was the primary seed of ICMAB and, in many cases, other groups of the Institute grew from this group. The current research fields of the laboratory derive from its deep knowledge on structural crystallography and from the corresponding structure-property relationships. New concepts and procedures have been developed during the years as new Patterson search methods and efficient and robust algorithms for phase refinement by direct methods. The study of the topology of experimental electron densities led to a deeper understanding of the hydrogen bond. Also, the expertise in surface crystallography has rendered possible not only the determination of difficult surface reconstructions but also the location of the absorbed molecules on substrates by grazing x-ray diffraction methods with synchrotron radiation. The expertise in structural determination and characterization of low dimensional systems and nanostructured materials by using UHV and synchrotron radiation techniques permits chemical, physical and structural analysis of surface phenomena in nanoscience field. On the other hand, the preparation and characterization of functionalized and nanocomposited aerogels has driven interesting new materials for applications in dye lasers and catalysis. Among the specialities of the researchers of the laboratory it should be mentioned the determination of complex structures of microporous materials by powder diffraction and the instrumental development of Mössbauer spectroscopy equipment e.g. the building and patenting of a miniaturised Micro-Mössbauer. Funded by several industrial contracts, the group also works in the preparation and characterisation of new materials like silica aerogels, nanomagnetism, drug delivery and magnetic imaging, gas purification sieves and, recently, carbon nanotubos, and catalisis of CO2 reduction (in collaboration with the solid state chemistry group)

Equipment

• Two single crystal automated diffractometers Enraf-Nonius CAD4 (100<T<300K)
• Modular X-ray powder diffractometer RIGAKU:
  - rotating anode (12KW)
  - horizontal goniometer with curved Ge(111) incident beam monochromator (Johanson type), graphite secondary monochromator and scintillation detector
  - horizontal goniometer with flat Ge monochromator and position-sensition detector.
• D5000 Siemens X-Ray powder diffractometer (with different accessories: high-low temperature chambers, thin films, and reflectometer.
• Weissenberg and precession cameras with X-ray generator
• Mössbauer spectroscopy system (2<T<300 K)