Core Instrumentation Facilities

Core Instrumentation Facilities

VLEST has instrument laboratories that provide open access to high-end specialized equipment for the Penn research community. The Linda Ye and Robin Ren Family Foundation Core Instrumentation Facility is located on the first floor of VLEST for ease of access for both building and campus researchers, while also putting science on display for visitors. A second core instrument lab is located on the third floor of VLEST to house additional shared-use equipment for the energy research being conducted in the building.

TA Instruments Multi-Sample X3 Differential Scanning Calorimeter (DSC)TA DSC X3

  • Simultaneous measurement of up to 3 samples
  • -90°C to 400°C range
  • Quantitative heat capacity
  • 54 position autosampler


TA Instruments Discovery Thermogravimetric Analyzer (TGA) 5500+ / Pfeiffer GSD350 Mass Spectrometer

  • RT to 1200°C rangeTA TGA5000/Pfeiffer GSD350
  • Evolved gas analysis
  • Nitrogen or dry air environment
  • 25 position autosampler

 

 

 

Please contact Brandon McClimon, mcclimon@sas.upenn.edu, to request access/training.

TA Instruments HR-30 Shear Rheometer TA HR-30 Rheometer

  • 8, 25, & 40mm plates/cone-plate
  • Peltier plate: 0°C to 150°C
  • RT to 600°C furnace with inert environment
  • Humidity control chamber: 0-95%RH, 5-120°C
  • Axial DMA
  • Dielectric Spectroscopy: 20 Hz to 2 MHz

 

Please contact Brandon McClimon, mcclimon@sas.upenn.edu, to request access/training.

J.A. Woollam IR-VASE Mark II Ellipsometer JA Woollam IR VASE Mk II

  • Infrared variable-angle spectroscopic ellipsometry for thin films, multilayers, and bulk materials.
  • Spectral range: 1.7–30 μm / 333–5900 cm⁻¹; spectral resolution: 1–64 cm⁻¹. 
  • Reflection and transmission measurements of ellipsometric and intensity data. 

  • Extracts film thickness, optical constants, and infrared dielectric functions.

     

 

 

Please contact Brandon McClimon, mcclimon@sas.upenn.edu, to request access/training.

The VLEST Core Instrumentation Facility houses a state-of-the-art Bruker 500MHz NMR spectrometer.  This instrument provides researchers with access to standard 1D and 2D NMR experiments for the more common NMR-active nuclei (i.e., 1H, 13C, 19F, 31P, and 15N) as well as access to less common, exotic heteronuclei (i.e., 7Li, 11B, 29Si, 89Y to name just a few).  Additionally, the instrument conducts these experiments under full temperature control from -120 C to +120 C. Furthermore, aligned with VLEST’s sustainability focus, the NMR facility utilizes a highly efficient helium recovery system.

Please contact the Penn Chemistry NMR Facility at nmr-help@penn.edu to request access/training or additional information on how NMR might help further your research.

VLEST is equipped with advanced mass spectrometry instrumentation to support a wide range of analytical applications. Capabilities include a Waters ACQUITY Premier UPLC system coupled with a TQ-S micro triple quadrupole mass spectrometer for high-sensitivity LC-MS/MS analysis. VLEST also houses two Waters TQ-GC systems, each integrated with flame ionization detectors (FID) and CTC PAL autosamplers capable of both headspace and solid-phase microextraction (SPME) sampling. These systems provide robust and versatile solutions for quantitative and qualitative analysis across diverse sample types.

Waters Xevo TQ-S Acquity LC-MS
Waters Xevo TQ-GC GC-MS

Managed and maintained by the Penn Mass Spectrometry Facility.