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Webinar: Synchrotron scattering methods for soft materials industrial research and development

22-06-2021

Synchrotron small-angle X-ray scattering (SAXS) techniques provide complementary information to electron microscopy and help researchers to gain better insight into the structural details of a given specimen from atomic or molecular to mesoscopic scales.

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Consumer products based on soft matter technology very often exhibit macroscopic properties, which are strongly dependent on their micro- and nano-structures extending over multiple size scales. Typical systems investigated span over a wide range of soft materials such as polymers, liquid crystals, colloids, surfactants, etc., related (noncrystalline) biological systems such as proteins, nucleic acids, membranes, tissues, bones, and multi-component mixtures like detergents, food ingredients, pharmaceuticals, etc. Modern synchrotron SAXS instruments cover more than four orders of magnitude in length scales, corresponding to real-space dimension from the μm down to the Angstroms facilitating the investigation of hierarchical structures. Furthermore, the high photon flux and collimation allow time-resolved experiments down to millisecond range, even with dilute samples and enable high angular resolution. The scattering techniques can be combined with various sample environments (e.g. in situ rheology, rapid mixing, varying temperature, humidity or pressure) for probing in situ real-time structural dynamics, crystallisation/dissolution kinetics, or out-of-equilibrium dynamics. Sub-micron beams enable high real-space spatial resolution studies of heterogeneous specimens.  

The European Synchrotron Radiation Facility (ESRF) operates a suite of advanced instruments with a wide range of sample environments mimicking industrial processing conditions and operated by a dedicated staff of experts, on hand to advise users. Industrially relevant research is supported both through collaborations / partnerships with industry, as well as through fast and flexible access via proprietary experiments.  

Save the date
5 July 2021 from 11:00 to 11:30 AM CEST
Registration: https://esrf.zoom.us/webinar/register/WN_WYaPtstVQs669JJDsftlmw  

Synchrotron X-rays:  Empowering Industrial R&I
The series continues with:

  • Topography: 14 September 2021
  • Structural biology: 19 October 2021

Top image: Inside the detector flight tube of beamline ID02.