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Flex Lab Specs

Spanning two floors in Northwestern's Technological Institute building, the Flex Lab is equipped to meet the diverse needs of the university's educational, governmental, and private-sector research collaborators in the fields of energy and sustainability. In addition to providing access to a laser lab and basic lab amenities, the lab’s flexible design allows occupants to install their own large and specialized equipment, customizing the space to their unique needs.

Fourth-floor Lab Space

The fourth-floor lab space contains a dedicated, climate controlled laser lab (938 sq. ft.) for synthesis characterization and a customizable flex lab (1,108 sq. ft.) for prototyping and fabrication. Fourth-floor lab equipment includes:

  • Amplified Q-switched nanosecond pulsed laser system (10 Hz)
  • 2 amplified femtosecond pulsed laser systems (1 kHz, 100 kHz)
  • Continuous wave (CW) 532 nm laser sources
  • Vibrationally isolated laser tables
  • UV/visible absorption spectrometer

Third-floor Lab Space

The third-floor lab space contains an additional customizable flex lab (948 sq. ft.) for prototyping and fabrication as well as a fully equipped synthesis lab (1,785 sq. ft.) with the following equipment:

  • 2 analytical balances
  • 2 microbalances
  • High-speed, high-capacity centrifuge
  • Chemical freezer (explosion resistant)
  • Chemical refrigerator (explosion resistant)
  • Combinatorial photoreactor
  • 3 Distillation setups
  • 18 fume hoods (w/ 1 schlenk line per fume hood)
  • Gas chromatograph
  • Prototype gas reactor for CO2 reduction
  • Glassware
  • Gradient sublimator
  • High temperature furnace
  • Lab jacks
  • Laminar flow hood
  • Milli-Q ultra-high purity water source
  • Nitrogen gloveboxes
  • Nitrogen gas tanks, vacuum pumps, and compressed air
  • Oven
  • pH meter
  • 3 Rotoary evaporators
  • Stirring hot plates
  • Ultrasonicator
  • 6 vacuum pumps, 1 diffusion high vacuum pump
  • Water chillers (closed-circuit)