£1.8m funding will help University of Glasgow secure cutting-edge scientific instrument

The University of Glasgow is set to become one of the first research institutions in the world to acquire a new cutting-edge scientific instrument thanks to a £1.8 million funding boost.

The Engineering and Physical Sciences Research Council (EPSRC), part of UK Research and Innovation, has provided the seven-figure funding to support the university’s acquisition of an electron diffractometer. By examining atoms within molecules and materials scientists can understand how materials work and what they can be used for. Currently, crystal structures are determined by X-ray diffraction, but by using beams of electrons to study materials instead, it is possible to analyse much smaller crystals.

Standalone electron diffractometers have only just become commercially available, with less than a dozen expected to be installed at research institutions around the world in 2023. The University of Glasgow will be home to the third commercial electron diffractometer in the UK.

Ross Forgan, professor of supramolecular and materials chemistry, said: “I’m grateful for EPSRC’s support to help bring this new electron diffractometer to Glasgow, which will put us in a unique position for an independent UK research university. Up until very recently, electron diffraction was out of reach for almost everyone. Having early access to these new dedicated machines, which offer advances of a couple of orders of magnitude over their x-ray equivalents, will be transformative. It will help to underpin breakthrough research across a wide range of fields, from chemical synthesis to new cancer therapies to the development of new catalysts for energy production which can support the global drive towards net-zero.”