As part of their “Advanced Materials Characterization Techniques” course, third-year Nanotechnology Engineering students from OSTİM Technical University visited the advanced research facilities of the National Nanotechnology Research Center (UNAM) at Bilkent University.
Guided by UNAM’s experienced technical staff, the students had the opportunity to observe the practical applications of several state-of-the-art analytical instruments. These included Fourier Transform Infrared Spectroscopy (FTIR), used to analyze how molecules absorb infrared light; Ultraviolet–Visible Spectroscopy (UV-VIS), which measures absorbance in the UV and visible light spectrum to determine chemical composition and concentration; Thermogravimetric Analysis (TGA), which tracks changes in a material’s mass as it is heated; and Differential Scanning Calorimetry (DSC), which measures how materials respond to heat.
They also explored advanced imaging techniques such as Transmission Electron Microscopy (TEM), which provides ultra-high-resolution images of internal structures and morphology, and Scanning Electron Microscopy (SEM), which offers detailed surface morphology imaging. Additionally, they learned about X-Ray Diffraction (XRD), a technique used to analyze phase composition, crystallinity, and lattice parameters of materials.
