2011-NMMU-Research-Report - Research Management - Nelson ...

Research Excellence
Prof Jan Neethling
Centre for High Resolution Transmission Electron
Microscopy
The Centre for High Resolution Transmission Electron Microscopy (HRTEM) at NMMU, which was launched
on 11 October 2011, has already attracted collaborators from all over the world. The Centre houses a suite of
the most advanced electron microscopes on the African continent. All the research instruments, worth about
R96 million, have been successfully installed in the Centre and are providing excellent results. One of the
biggest challenges facing the world today is the provision of enough clean energy for fast growing economies
and it is therefore not surprising that the Centre is also involved in energy technology research. A common
challenge in the design of future fusion reactors, new nuclear fission reactors and high efficiency solar cells is
the development of new materials that can withstand the extreme conditions that exist inside the reactors
and in the case of solar cells, improve their efficiencies.
All the research instruments, worth about R96 million, have been successfully installed in
the Centre and are providing excellent results.
The Centre is working with a team of Russian scientists on advanced materials for fusion and fission reactors;
research on graphene is conducted in collaboration with scientists from Oxford University; research on diamonds
for electronic devices involves scientists from the University of the Witwatersrand; electron microscopy research on
semiconductor devices, which include quantum dots and emitters of ultraviolet light, is performed for collaborators
of the NMMU Physics Department and electron microscopy investigations on luminescent crystals called
nanophosphors are performed for physicists from the University of the Free State. Close research collaboration
with Sasol focuses on nanoparticle catalysts used in Sasol’s coal-to-liquids technology. Various joint projects on
the beneficiation of platinum, vanadium, zirconium and other metals involve researchers from iThemba Labs, the
University of Cape Town, Stellenbosch University and the Nuclear Energy Corporation of South Africa.
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