The Soft Materials Characterization Laboratory (SMCL) at the University of Wisconsin-Madison provides a research facility for analysis and characterization of synthetic polymers, soft materials and polymer devices.
To maintain leading-edge research programs, to give students a state-of-the-art education facility and to provide services to industrial clients, we continue to improve this advanced laboratory with new equipment purchased by grants or through gifts from industrial partners.
For use, questions or more information, please contact the Director of the MRSEC facilities:
Dr. Jerry Hunter (jerry.hunter@wisc.edu)
(608) 263-1073
ThermoFisher Scientific IS50 FTIR
Rudolph Auto NuIIing Ellipsometer
OCA Contact Angle Measuring Device;
Waters Gel Permeation Chromatography
Spectroline XL-1500 UV Cross Linker
PlasmaEtch Oxygen Plasma Etcher
Thermocraft Tube Furnace
Thermal Probe Scanning Probe Microscope
Polarization Modulation Infrared Reflection Absorption Spectrometer (PM-IRRAS)
NItrogen Glove Box
Spin coater, fume hoods, vacuum and ambient ovens
Cr/Ti Gold evaporator
The DSC measures temperatures and heat flows associated with thermal transitions in a material. Properties measured by DSC techniques include heat capacity at different temperatures, parameters of glass transitions, phase changes (melting, crystallization), product stability, cure/cure kinetics.
The Viscotek GPC measures molecular weight averages (Mn, Mw, Mz) and molecular weight distribution of polymers.
The IR-VASE® Mark II is the only spectroscopic ellipsometer to cover the spectral range from 1.7 to 30 microns (333 to 5900 wavenumbers). The IR-VASE can determine both n and k for materials over the entire width of the spectral range without extrapolating data outside the measured range, as with a Kramers-Kronig analysis. Like other Woollam ellipsometers, the IR-VASE is perfect for thin films or bulk materials including dielectrics, semiconductors, polymers, and metals.
The VASE is our most accurate and versatile ellipsometer for research on all types of materials: semiconductors, dielectrics, polymers, metals, multi-layers, and more.
LEO 1550 FESEM with a Nability pattern generating system and EDS
The Zetasizer Nano ZSP is the world’s highest performance system and particularly suitable for the characterization of proteins and nanoparticles where the highest sensitivity for size and zeta potential measurement is required. It includes a Protein Measurement option for protein mobility measurements.
The Q-Sense E4 instrument employs a Quartz Crystal Microbalance with Dissipation Monitoring (QCM-D).
The ARES is a mechanical spectrometer (Rheometer) that is capable of subjecting a sample to either a dynamic (sinusoidal) or steady shear strain deformation, and then measuring the resultant torque expended by the sample in response to this shear strain. Shear strain is applied by the motor; torque is measured by the transducer. Strain amplitude and frequency are set by the operator, with the actual sample deformation determined by the measured motor and transducer displacement.
The RSA III (Dynamical Mechanical Analyzer or DMA) tests the dynamic mechanical properties of solid materials by using a servo drive linear motor to mechanically impose an oscillatory deformation, or strain, upon the material being tested. The material is coupled between the motor and a transducer, which measures the resultant force generated by material deformation. Strain amplitude and test frequency are set by the operator, and the actual sample deformation is determined by the measured actuator and transducer displacement.
The TGA measures weight changes in a material as a function of temperature (or time) under controlled atmosphere. Its principal uses include measurement of a materials thermal stability and composition.
MRFN.org is supported by the MRSEC Program of the National Science Foundation. Image in the header is courtesy of CRISP MRSEC.
