Facilities
MERlin Equipment and Facilities
MERLin is equipped with state-of-the art facilities and modern laboratories. We also have access to the University of Sydney core research facilities including electron microscopy, nuclear magnetic resonance, X-ray diffraction, Raman spectroscopy and elemental analysis.
Some of the instruments below are available to be used by external people, but some charges will be applied. For more information please send an email to f.aguey@sydney.edu.au.
Glove Boxes
All our work is carried out under an inert atmosphere in 5 glove boxes from LCTechnology (O2 and H2O < 1ppm)
Electrochemical synthetic and testing facilities
Biologic potentiostat/galvanostat equipped with 16 channels for battery testing and electrochemical synthesis.
TGA/MS/DSC
Mettler Toledo TGA/DSC 1 Thermogravimetry and Differential Scanning calorimetry coupled with an Omnistar Mass Spectrometer (Pfeiffer). To characterise the thermal stability and desorption properties of hydrogen storage materials
High Pressure DSC
Technical specifications: Vacuum to 200 bar and -140 to 600 °C. Dedicated to the characterisation of the thermodynamics properties of hydrogen storage materials and reversibility of hydrogen storage properties.
High Pressure Volumetric Sievert Apparatus coupled with Mass Spectrometry
Technical specifications: 0.01 bar to 200 bar and from 10 to 400 °C. Dedicated to gases absorption/desorption measurements in materials
High Temperature Furnaces
Technical specifications: RT to 1600 °C under various atmosphere.
High Pressure Gravimetric Balance
Rubotherm magnetic suspension balance
Technical specifications: 1μg resolution, 0.01 bar to 200 bar and from -150 to 400 °C. The balance is equipped with an Al sinker for simultaneous density measurement and buoyancy effects correction.
Dedicated to hydrogen absorption/desorption measurements by hydrogen storage materials.
In-situ High Pressure FTIR
Bruker Vertex 70V
Technical specifications: Vacuum bench with Mid to Far-IR capability.
Equipped with an in-situ high pressure cell, vacuum up to 100 bar, 10 to 600 °C.
To measure the evolution of materials properties under reactive atmospheres.
Deposition System
The film making facility by magnetron sputtering, e-beam and thermal evaporation.
The system is fully encapsulated to enable work under 0 ppm O2 and H2O for preparing a range of H2 storage materials.