Research Facilities

The Center for Energy and Sustainability research faculty and students have access to state-of-the-art facilities, laboratories and research equipment. Recently, center faculty was awarded $1.7 million through NSF ARI2 to renovate several research labs and more than $2 million through NSF MRI grants for the acquisition of new equipment, including a Scanning Electron Microscope, ICP-MS and an high-payload centrifuge. Lab renovations and equipment acquisition will support the institutionalization of the Center.

  • 91150V Reference Cell and Meter

    The 91150V Reference Cell and Meter is an integral part of solar simulator calibration and solar cell I-V characterization. This setup will be used to calibrate the solar simulator for solar cell testing.


  • Agilent PicoPlus Atomic Force Microscope (AFM) and scanning tunneling microscope (STM)

    Our AFM (Molecular Imaging, Inc.) is equipped with the conventional contact mode, magnetic AC mode (MAC), and current sensing (CS) mode.  While the MAC-AFM is nondestructive to biological substrates, the CS-AFM is a unique microscopic technique for mapping regions of different conductivity.  The same instrument can be converted to a scanning tunneling microscope by simply changing the scanner housed in the head compartment of the microscope.  Electrochemical AFM and STM can also be performed on this instrument.

    Location:Zhou Laboratory
  • Arc-Melting Furnace

    Effective for powder melting, arc casting, metallic and non-metallic buttons, annealling, compound synthesis and material densification - See more at: http://www.thermaltechnology.com/arc-melting-furnace.html#sthash.jDmoAyBO.dpuf

  • Asylum Research MFP-3D Atomic Force Microscope

    Coupled with a closed-fluid cell, the AFM can be employed to study biological reactions in situ for an extended period of time. This instrument may also be operated as a conductivity mapping microscope, and coupled with a potentiostat and a temperature controller, without changing the hardware in the scanner head.  The close-loop piezoelements facilitate accurate force measurements.

    Location:Zhou Laboratory
  • Capillary electrophoresis

    Three UV-Vis and laser-induced fluorescence detection systems manufactured by Beckman Coulter

    Location:Gomez Laboratory
  • Cooking burner, flow measurement devices, counterflow burner, and partially premixed burner
    Location:Combustion Laboratory
  • Cressington 108 Auto/SE Sputter Coater

    The sputter coater will be used for photovoltaic cell fabrications. The new sputter coater will allow students to coat the gold layer more evenly and consistently, leading to improved efficiencies of the fabricated photovoltaic cells


  • Dionex ASE 200 Accelerated Solvent Extractor

    The ASE is an instrument used for extracting solid and semisolid samples with liquid, organic or aqueous solvents. It uses conventional liquid solvents at elevated temperatures and pressures to increase the efficiency of the extraction process. The solvents are used at elevated temperatures and pressures to increase the speed and efficiency of the extraction process. The increased temperature accelerates the extraction kinetics, while elevated pressure keeps the solvent below its boiling point, thus enabling safe and rapid extractions. The ASE is equipped with a Solvent Controller which allows automated delivery of up to four solvents.

    Location:Geonvironmental and Water Resources Engineering Lab
  • Electrochemical Workstation/Impedance Spectroscopy

    Princeton Applied Research PAR2273. The CH workstation is comprehensive electrochemical workstation that performs all the voltammetric techniques. The instrument can be used for all kinds of routine electrochemical studies. Certain voltammetric techniques can be simultaneously carried out with the measurement of frequency/mass changes at gold-coated quart crystal electrodes (electrochemical quartz crystal microbalance).

    Location:Zhou Laboratory
  • Enviro-Genie

    Temperature controlled shaker/rocker

  • FluoroLog 3 spectroflurimeter

    Manufactored by Horiba. Equipped with lifetime measurement accessory 

    Location:Zhou Laboratory
  • Gas absorption surface area analysis

    Quantachrome instruments autosorbs iQ

    Location:Zhou Laboratory
  • GCA 6300 Stepper

    i-line 5x reduction stepper. 15mm x 15mm field, 500nm resolution, piece parts to 6" wafers; i line 500 nm resolution

  • Hach FH950 stream flow meter

    The lightweight, battery-powered FH950 Velocity Flow Meter was designed to provide accurate velocity measurements while simplifying the entire measurement process in rugged field environments. Multiple user-friendly features designed into the FH950 allow you to quickly and easily determine stream velocities for required discharge measurements, or use the FH950 to quickly calibrate area velocity flow meters, or verify primary devices such as weirs and flumes.

  • Hach Visible Spectrometer

    Hach provides spectrophotometer technology built for the future of water analysis. Flexible connectivity, elimination of false readings, and guided procedures make your testing quick and simple.

  • Heidleberg DWL-66

    The capabilities and flexibility of this system make it the ultimate lithographic research tool in MEMS, BioMEMS, Micro Optics, ASICs, Micro Fluidics, Sensors, CGHs, and all other applications that require microstructures.

  • Hybrid imaging and sensing platform

    A novel platform that combines the strength of various analytical techniques including scanning electrochemical microscopy (SECM), scanning ion conductance microscopy (SICM), atomic force microscope (AFM), patch-clamp and resistive pulse-based sensing and delivery, and surface plasmon resonance microscopy (SPRM).

    Location:Wang's Lab
  • Imaging Ellipsometer Beaglehole Instrument

    The Enhanced Imaging Ellipsometer combines the features of the Picometer Ellipsometer and the Imaging Ellipsometer in a single instrument. While the Picometer can measure down to 0.1 angstrom thickness change in less than 1 ms, the Imaging Ellipsometer permits a large area to be mapped with a lateral resolution of 3-6 mm.

    Location:Zhou Laboratory
  • Inverted microscopes

    Three in total. Two with fluorescence capabilities; All three by Nikon. 

    Location:Gomez Laboratory
  • Laminar-Flow Hepa Filtered Total Exhaust Hood

    A typical application for the AirClean® Systems laminar airflow workbench is inspection of parts or the assembly of optics that require a clean, particulate free environment. Our laminar flow clean bench is constructed from polypropylene and features rear wall filtration, making it perfect for this and other critical applications and manipulations.

  • Langmuir-Blodgett Trough

    Produced by Nima Technology.This trough allow researchers to build up prospected mono-molecular layers at air/water interface and offer the controllable way to sequentially deposited those monolayers on to solid substrate. The phase behaviors of monolayers can be easily identified by the two-dimensional “fingerprintâ€? provided by pressure-area isotherm.

    Location:Zhou Laboratory
  • Li-Cor CO2 soil flux meter and mapping unit

    Integrated, simple to use, and modular by design, the LI-8100A Automated Soil CO2 Flux System allows researchers to design a setup from a variety of components, customized for their application and research needs. 

  • Marathon 21000 Multipurpose Centrifuge

    The centrifuge is a high-speed (up to 15,000 RPM), multipurpose centrifuge used in medical, industrial, and scientific applications. It accommodate a swinging bucket or fixed angle rotor and can process a variety of tubes, bottles, and microsample tubes. Acceleration and brake rates of the centrifuge may be controlled to optimize runs: rapid for fast separations or slow for delicate samples. 

    Location:Geonvironmental and Water Resources Engineering Lab
  • Mask-aligner for Microfluidic Chip Fabrication

    Two in total. Manufactured by Karl Suss 

    Location:Gomez Laboratory
  • Metrohm Ion Chromatograph Model 882 Plus with chemical & CO2 suppression

    Includes chemical & CO2 suppression. Intelligent ion chromatograph. It can be operated with various types of detection.

  • Microfluidic chip set-up including external UV-Vis fiber optics detection system

    A Biosensing Instrument.

    Location:Gomez Laboratory
  • Micrometrics Tri Star Surface Area Analyzer

    TriStar 3000 is an automated surface area and porosimetry analyzer which contains three ports, allowing you to analyze up to three samples simultaneously. The TriStar 3000 system consists of the TriStar analyzer, a VacPrep 061 degassing unit which removes adsorbed contaminants from the surface and pores of your sample in preparation for analysis, a vacuum pump, and a control module (computer) for entering analysis and report options.

    Location:Geonvironmental and Water Resources Engineering Lab
  • One 14-node with 1-head-node, 2 Intel quad-core Xeon Beowulf Linux server

    (2.4GHz, 32MB Cache, 6x1GB DDR3, 500GB/7200RPM  16MB Cache HD)

    Location:Thermal and Fluid Systems Laboratory
  • Particle size/zeta potential measurement

    The lab owns a Zeta-nanosizer from Malvern Instruments. The system supports the measurement of the following material properties: particle sizing and size distribution, zeta potential, particle shape, molecular weight and a range of rheological properties. It is a powerful tool for the study of folding and aggregation of biomolecules and the properties of colloids.

    Location:Zhou Laboratory
  • Perkin Elmer Series II 2400 CHNS/O Analyzer

    The PerkinElmer® 2400 Series II CHNS/O Elemental Analyzer (2400 Series II) is a proven instrument for the rapid determination of the carbon, hydrogen, nitrogen, sulfur or oxygen content in organic and other types of materials. It has an advanced combustion design that gave it the capability of handling a wide variety of sample types in the field of pharmaceuticals, polymers, chemicals, environmental and energy, including solids, liquids, volatile and viscous samples. The analyzer has three mode of operation: CHN, CHNS and Oxygen.

    Location:Geonvironmental and Water Resources Engineering Lab
  • Perkin-Elmer ICP-OES Optima 5300

    The Optima 5X00™ DV ICP-OES offers the performance required to maximize productivity. While other simultaneous ICPs claim “speed”, only the Optima 5000 DV Series has the optimized design required to ensure accuracy, improve method development, and consistently deliver the correct answer.

  • Pulsed Laser Deposition

    Uses laser beam to vaporize a solid target material in order to produce a thin film.

  • Scanning Electrochemical Microscope

    The Scanning Electrochemical Microscope (SECM) consists of a digital function generator, a bipotentiostat, a three dimensional nanopositioner, high resolution data acquisition circuitry, and cell holder. The principle of SECM is based on the movement of the microelectrode over the conductive or insulating surface. SECM can image chemical or biochemical activities present at a surface.

    Location:Zhou Laboratory
  • Scanning Electron Microscopy (SEM) bearing Energy Dispersive X-Ray

    Our electron microscope produces images of a sample by scanning it with a focused beam of electrons.

  • Sonicator

    Ultrasonic Bath

  • Surface plasmon resonance

    Biosensing Instrument Model 4000. This surface plasmon resonance insturument is a modular system for highly sensitive real-time biomolecular interaction analysis. It can be conveniently coupled with electrochemistry for electrochemical SPR measurements and combined with a two-channel flow system for rapid bioaffinity studies.

    Location:Zhou Laboratory
  • Surface Plasmon Resonance Microscopy (SPRM) system

    This commerical SPRM system from Biosensing Instrument integrates optical microscopy and SPR, is a powerful technique for measuring binding activities of membrane proteins in vitro.  It allows the simultaneous measurement of phenotypical changes of the sample via bright field and binding strength and kinetics via SPR.

    Location:Wang's Lab
  • Thermo-Nicolet FT-IR

    Model 6700 equipped with an ATR-microscope (Thermo Electron Corporation Nicolet 6700 FT-IR and Nicolet CONTINUUM FT-IR MICROSCOPE)

    Location:Zhou Laboratory
  • Thermo-Nicolet FT-Raman

    Thermo Scientific NXR FT-RAMAN MODULE

    Location:Zhou Laboratory
  • Transmission Electron Microscope (TEM)

    The transmission electron microscope (TEM) uses the basic principles as the light microscope but uses electrons rather than light.

  • Tube Production Furnace

    An electric heating device used to conduct syntheses.

  • Tystar Tytan Tube Furnace

    Tytan furnaces have reliably served industry, universities, and national laboratories since the early 1980's.

  • UV-Vis spectrophotometer

    Three UV-Vis and laser-induced fluorescence detection systems manufactured by Beckman Coulter

    Location:Gomez Laboratory
  • Varian CP-3800 Gas Chromatograph, with Flame Ionation Detector

    The Varian CP-3800 GC is Varian's top of line Gas Chromatograph with a flexible platform for single, dual, or three-channel configuration for maximum productivity. The CP-3800 Gas Chromatograph is easily upgraded to multi-valve, multi-column configuration to handle complicated analysis.

    Location:Geonvironmental and Water Resources Engineering Lab
  • Waters 2690 High Pressure Liquid Chromatograph, with Waters 996 Photodiode Array Detector

    This Waters Alliance 2690 HPLC Separations Module can be used for in-vitro diagnostic testing to analyze many compounds. The Module is an integrated solvent and sample management platform. The system includes waters 996 photodiode array (PDA) Detector.

    Location:Geonvironmental and Water Resources Engineering Lab
  • YSI and Hach Multi-Parameter Meters

    For use in both the field and laboratory; physio-chemical water quality parameters. Provides extreme flexibility for the measurement of a variety of combinations for dissolved oxygen, conductivity, specific conductance, salinity, resistivity, total dissolved solids (TDS), pH, ORP, pH/ORP combination, ammonium (ammonia), nitrate, chloride and temperature.