Renewal of the FT-MW Bridge of a CW/pulse X-Band EPR spectrometer

• Subject Area: Physical Chemistry
• Term: since 2026
• Project identifier: Deutsche Forschungsgemeinschaft (DFG) - Project number 583702504

The requested microwave (MW) bridge (~9.4 GHz) will be installed and integrated with the existing X-band continuous-wave (CW) and pulse electron paramagnetic resonance (EPR) spectrometer, which has been running continuously since 1997 and is equipped with a closed-cycle cryostat. This cryostat enables helium recirculation, minimizing helium consumption during low-temperature measurements. The new MW bridge will ensure reliable operation and full compatibility with the digitally up-graded console from 2019, thereby optimizing the efficiency and utilization of the existing EPR spectrometer, as the old analogue MW bridge has reached the end-of-life and can likely not be maintained operational in the coming future. EPR measurements will be possible across a broad temperature range—from room temperature down to 10 K. The spectrometer is employed to investigate the structural and mechanistic properties of a wide array of biological, bio-hybrid and soft macromolecular materials. These materials are typically formed through strong non-covalent and/or weak covalent interactions. A key feature of soft materials is their ability to self-organize and undergo self-assembly across several lengthscales: from nano-scopic via mesoscopic to macroscopic length scales. Such processes can significantly influence their physicochemical properties, including morphology, mechanical strength, thermal responsiveness, and structural organization. Such materials include polymers, ionic liquids, colloids, (hydro-)gels, proteins, intrinsically disordered proteins, and peptides, as well as metal complexes. With the requested MW bridge the then fully digital EPR spectrometer’s use time can be extended to go into a fourth decade and beyond.

• DFG Programme: Major Research Instrumentation
• Major Instrumentation: Ersatz einer FT-Mikrowellenbrücke (X-Band) für ein CW/Puls EPR Spektrometer
• Instrumentation Group: 1790 Spektrometer (Massen-, NMR-, außer 170-178)
• Applicant Institution: Martin-Luther-Universität Halle-Wittenberg
• Leader: Professor Dr. Dariush Hinderberger