Chemistry Facilities

Mass Spectrometry is a powerful analytical technique used to determine the molecular mass, elemental composition, and structure of a range of chemical compounds.

Our NEXUS laboratory is one of the UK’s leading research centres for X-ray Photoelectron Spectroscopy (XPS) analysis. It also hosts world-class Ion Beam facilities.

Nuclear magnetic resonance spectroscopy (NMR) provides detailed information about molecular structure, and is possibly the most common analytical technique used in structure determination. It can also be used to determine sample purity and monitor dynamic processes or chemical reactions. It is a non-destructive analytical technique and requires only a few mg of material.

Newcastle University's School of Pharmacy has bespoke laboratories and experienced technical staff, with a wide range of facilities and equipment covering material processing, pharmaceutics and analytical services. 

Scanning electron microscopy (SEM) enables analysis of the surface of a sample using an electron beam. The electron beam interacts with the surface of the sample and a number of signals are emitted from the sample. By using a variety of detectors located in the main chamber of the microscope these signals can be captured and topographic images, atomic-number (Z) contrast images and elemental composition information can be obtained from the specimen.

We can offer a variety of other techniques, such as Attenuated Total Reflection Fourier Transform Infrared spectroscopy (ATR-FTIR), Ultraviolet-Visible spectroscopy (UV-VIS), Fluorescence spectroscopy and Carbon, Hydrogen, Nitrogen and Sulfur elemental analysis (CHNS Elemental Analysis).

X-ray diffraction (XRD) underpins techniques that can be used to characterise and investigate the properties of crystalline materials in the solid state, providing insight into the behaviour of materials, enabling the understanding of structure-function relationships. At Newcastle University we have capabilities to study materials using Single Crystal XRD and Powder XRD.