Montana State University has received an $833,000 grant from the National Science Foundation’s Division of Materials Research and EPSCoR program to acquire a new X-ray Photoelectron Spectroscopy (XPS) system. The instrument will be installed in the Imaging and Chemical Analysis Laboratory (ICAL) in Barnard Hall, restoring a key research capability that was lost when the previous 25-year-old XPS spectrometer became irreparable in 2020.
The ICAL facility, which marked its 33rd anniversary in September, is part of the Montana Nanotechnology Facility, a user consortium supported by NSF since 2015. ICAL provides equipment for researchers across disciplines—including physics, chemistry, microbiology, geology, and engineering—to study materials at microscopic levels.
Recep Avci, director and founder of ICAL, noted that the original XPS was among the first critical instruments acquired to support surface and interface science research at MSU.
Rob Walker, head of MSU’s Department of Chemistry and Biochemistry and leader of the grant application effort, said demand for XPS analysis is strong. He highlighted that the new spectrometer will enhance research at MSU and statewide in areas such as quantum materials, energy storage and conversion, biomineralization, and environmental science.
“The XPS spectrometer is a foundational tool for any R1 university engaged in materials research,” said Walker. “Not having this capability was a real gap in MSU’s portfolio, and the interdisciplinary team effort to write this grant will benefit research and education across the entire campus.”
The new XPS instrument will provide detailed elemental and chemical information about material surfaces down to five to ten nanometers—capabilities not offered by other instruments at ICAL.
Stephen Sofie, co-principal investigator on the NSF proposal and professor in MSU’s Department of Mechanical and Industrial Engineering, explained that his ceramic materials research relies on this technology. His work focuses on mixed ionic and electrically conducting ceramics (MIECs), specifically perovskites synthesized at MSU that show unusually high electrical conductivity.
“We’re very excited with this new XPS so we can study the valence state evolution as a function of both the temperature and chemical stoichiometry,” Sofie said. “We really think that it’s a very careful coalition of valence states from processing that drives this transition to highly metallic behavior. If we can understand that, we can find new ways to engineer this unique material.”
Stephanie Ewing from MSU’s Department of Land Resources and Environmental Sciences stated that she plans to use the instrument for studying water contamination processes involving pesticides and other compounds moving through groundwater.
“We will look to use this instrument to characterize soil and other mineral and organic-coated surfaces that slow down movement of environmental contaminants and control the release of solutes in waters,” she said.
Nick Stadie from MSU’s Department of Chemistry and Biochemistry described how his lab has faced challenges without local access to an XPS unit. Previously they had sent samples out-of-state for analysis.
“It slows us down a lot because we’re disadvantaged by not having students there who made the materials,” he said. “The people performing the XPS measurements over there didn’t make the samples. Now, having our students here put their own hands on the instrument is going to accelerate our research incredibly.”
Stadie also noted collaborations with Salish Kootenai College students who are expected to use the Bozeman facility for their projects.
“This really is a statewide effort coming together to demonstrate the need this capability, and those collaborative efforts were commented on time and time again in the (grant) reviews,” Walker said. “The entire jurisdiction is going to benefit from this.”
ICAL staff plan to train students throughout Montana State University System—including tribal colleges—on using this advanced equipment.
“It’s nice to spend my professional life in a room and have students become experts,” Avci said. “How can you beat that?”
Sara Zacher manages ICAL after being one of Avci’s former students; she emphasized how central XPS capability is for their operations.
“It’s our beating heart,” she said. “We’re very happy to get it back again.”
