Pondicherry University has commissioned state-of-the-art nanosciences research equipment funded by the Department of Science and Technology (DST) at its Central Instrumentation Facility (CIF).
Vice-Chancellor Gurmeet Singh inaugurated the X-ray photoelectron spectrometer (XPS), provided under the DST-Promotion of University Research and Scientific Excellence (DST-PURSE) programme.
Bala Manimaran, head of CIF; V.V. Ravi Kanth Kumar, professor and head, Department of Physics and the DST-PURSE phase-II coordinator; K. Suresh Babu, faculty in charge of XPS and assistant professor of nanoscience and nanotechnology, and staff members of the CIF participated in the function to commission the equipment.
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A press note from the university described the XPS as a versatile instrument to analyse the surface chemistry of a material with nanometre accuracy. In many instances where surface properties differ from that of the inside, the XPS provides elemental chemical information and concentration from the surface. Its ability to differentiate oxidation states of elements and their distribution is highly valuable for advanced research in material sciences, physics, chemistry, nanotechnology, engineering and biology.
The surface mapping of elements gives pictorial information on the location and distribution of elements. With the depth profiling mode, the material surface can be sliced by nanometre progressively, and the corresponding chemistry can be analysed in great detail, the press release from the university said.
The ₹2.87 crore XPS was funded by the DST on the basis of research contributions from the research scholars and faculty members of Pondicherry University.
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The equipment at the CIF will be available to students, scholars, researchers and industries for research work. Understanding the surface properties through XPS is likely to add more momentum to the ongoing cutting-edge research in Pondicherry University, the press note said.