The Facility is open for normal operations starting Wed Nov 10, 2021.
The Chemistry buildings Mathews and Daniels will be re-opening tomorrow, Wed Nov 10 at 8am, and with that the MR Facility will also re-open for hands-on use. Please note the following in your planning for returning to “normal” work within the Facility:
NMR, SQUID and Mossbauer service work will end tonight (Tues Nov. 9, 2021) at 9:30pm.
When contacting NMR staff, use nmrstaff@chem.wisc.edu, and include your advisor’s name in the email.
1. All new users of the facility that have not been trained for hands-on use of the EPR, Mössbauer, and SQUID must contact MR Facility staff to setup a training session. Do not use the facility until you have gone through this training.
2. The following COVID safety protocols remain in effect in the MR Facility:
— Stay masked at at all times in the facility, and also in the Chemistry building.
— Maintain social distancing while in the Facility: one person at a spectrometer at one time, no gatherings while waiting for spectrometers, no loitering in hallways.
— Keep surfaces disinfected. Plastic covers will stay on keyboards, and EtOH solutions will be at all workstations for spraying before and after use.
— Please wash your hands frequently, especially after you exit from the Facility.
3. Mössbauer, and SQUID instruments are available via our calendaring (FACES) system at nmr.chem.wisc.edu starting at 10am tomorrow. Please be collegial with scheduling your time. These instruments require additional training for use. If you have not been trained and have a justifiable need, contact Cathy Clewett clewett@wisc.edu.
— SQUID, Mossbauer, and EPR will re-open via calendaring.
If you have questions or concerns, contact Cathy Clewett clewett@wisc.edu.
Information about COVID-19 compiled by the department can be found here.
NMR Facility hours match the Chemistry Building hours: users should not enter the building or Facility outside of these hours.
*********** Other news *********************************************
The full MR Facility has resumed “normal” accounting practices for applying charges. All users must be aware that fees are not based on calendar requests. Under calendared use, charges are based on the time logged in the Excel spreadsheet. That has worked well in the past, and is an accurate and efficient method for doing the accounting. It is the user’s responsibility to sign-up and use just the time needed under calendared use. Do not signup for a set of short experiments unless someone will stick around to log out when the experiments are done.
[9 Nov 2021]
Mössbauer spectroscopy is used to characterize the nuclear structure of iron (Iron 57) containing compounds. It is unique in its sensitivity to subtle changes in chemical environment, including changes in oxidation state, effects of different ligands, and the magnetic environment of the sample. It is based on the Mössbauer effect which describes the recoilless emission and absorption of gamma rays in strongly bound nuclei found in crystalline solids.