Mission and Overview

The Department of Chemistry X-ray Crystallography Core Laboratory at UNC Chapel Hill (XCL) serves to support research, education, and outreach efforts within and outside of the University.  XCL’s active collaboration with University Core Laboratories including Chapel Hill Analytical and Nanofabrication Laboratory (CHANL) and Macromolecular Crystallography Core (MX) providing efficient and comprehensive analytical strategy for research needs.

The XCL houses two single-Crystal X-ray diffractometers, Bruker SMART Apex II and Bruker KAPPA Apex II, which is excellent for routine and absolute structure determination. Service includes SC-XRD structure determination and user training for both SC- and powder XRD techniques. Additional experiments at Argonne National Laboratory, SCrAPS – Synchrotron Crystallography at Advanced Photon Source, are carried out three times a year for samples that diffract too weakly using the conventional radiation source at the facility. Future upgrade includes Bruker D8 VENTURE slated to arrive in Spring 2022.

XCL provides both client- and user-based services where clients enjoy the convenience of the service, and users gain privilege and flexibility in instrument operation, data collection, and structure solution and refinement with or without the assistance of the XCL personnel. To become a proficient user, requirements such as passing the X-ray Crystallography course as well as instrument-specific and safety training and exams need to be fulfilled.