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Projects

As a scientific user facility, the Environmental Molecular Sciences Laboratory (EMSL) provides expertise, instrumentation, and resources to 250 projects each year. 

Projects displayed below reflect information and abstracts that were published before April 30, 2024. To review current EMSL user projects, visit Science Central™.

  • Projects beginning at or after given date.
    Projects ending at or before given date.

Gas phase Halogen detection in ambient air

Lead Institution
Pacific Northwest National Laboratory
Principal Investigator
Robert Disselkamp
Project type
Exploratory Research
Experiments are underway to examine halogen formation in aqueous NaCl/NaBr/HNO3/O3 solutions. Air containing ozone is sent through an aqueous solution and chemistry occurs whereby the effluent gas…

Investigations of ZrO2 and NaNO3 Interfaces using HREELM

Lead Institution
Istituto de Struttura della Materia del CNR, Frascati, Rome
Principal Investigator
Ernesto Paparazzo
Project type
Exploratory Research
We have been involved in several joint projects which investigate the role of surface excitations in low-energy electron- and photon-stimulated desorption phenomena. Thus far, we have examined the…

Remote photoluminescence characterization of subsurface contamination

Lead Institution
University of Central Florida
Principal Investigator
Robert Peale
Project type
Exploratory Research
Characterization of subsurface contamination on the Hanford Nuclear Reservation is expensive because of sample collection for offsite analysis, which itself is unacceptably slow. Excavation…

The Preparation and Characterization of Functional Nanocomposite Films by Laser Ablation

Lead Institution
National Institute of Material and Chemical Research, Agency for Industrial Science and Technology
Principal Investigator
N. Koshizaki
Project type
Exploratory Research
An important aspect this project is the investigation of ultraviolet laser ablation techniques in the deposition process. At these shorter wavelengths the absorptivity of the raw composite…

Chemical/Physical Structure of Nano-Sized Silicon Nitride Powder

Lead Institution
Oregon State University
Principal Investigator
Shoichi Kimura
Project type
Exploratory Research
Nano-sized silicon nitride is produced via the reaction between SiO vapor and ammonia. The product could be in three forms: nano-sized powder, crystals and whiskers. Depending on the reaction…

Application of Tunable, Ultrafast Lasers to Ion-Trap Mass Spectrometry

Lead Institution
Vanderbilt University
Principal Investigator
Richard Haglund
Project type
Exploratory Research
We propose to use ion-trap mass spectrometry, capitalizing on the asymmetric trap design developed by Dr. Alexander, to study ion and neutral atom and molecule emission under laser irradiation in the…

Non-stoichiometric precipitation of phase-pure hydrotalcite-like compounds

Lead Institution
Environmental Molecular Sciences Laboratory
Principal Investigator
Ravi Kukkadapu
Project type
Exploratory Research
Hydrotalcite-like compounds (HTLCs), brucite-like materials, are used as gaseous adsorbents (e.g., CO2, NOx, SOx, etc.), anion exchangers, catalyst precursors, and catalyst supports. The general…

The Location of M(IV) Dopants in Hematite

Lead Institution
Lewis and Clark College
Principal Investigator
Barbara Balko
Project type
Exploratory Research
Redox reactions that occur on iron oxides are critical in biogeochemical cycles and are potentially important in controlling corrosion at iron surfaces and for degrading organic pollutants. The…

Characterization of Secondary Phases forming from Weathering of Waste Glasses

Lead Institution
Pacific Northwest National Laboratory
Principal Investigator
Shas Mattigod
Project type
Exploratory Research
A performance assessment is underway to evaluate the suitability of the unsaturated sediments at the Hanford Site for long-term disposal of vitrified low-activity waste. Previous analyses show…

XPS of SAMs and Miomimetic Coatings

Lead Institution
Pacific Northwest National Laboratory
Principal Investigator
Allison Campbell
Project type
Exploratory Research
conduct XPS of SAM surfaces, mineralized surfaces and ions adsorbed onto SAM surfaces.

Characterizing the Surface Structure of Nucleic Acid Microarrays

Lead Institution
Washington State University
Principal Investigator
Douglas Call
Project type
Exploratory Research
Designing nucleic acid based microarrays for detection of bacterial pathogens and bacteria, important for bioremediation. Procedure involves coating a glass slide with a self-assembled monolayer …

Surface Analysis of Carbide Catalysts

Lead Institution
Pacific Northwest National Laboratory
Principal Investigator
Dean Matson
Project type
Exploratory Research
Metalized carbon nanotubes are proposed as catalyst materials for hydrocarbon processing. Activity and selectivity of these materials is dependent on the distribution and nature of the metals on the…