News
01.02.2024New Multi-Purpose X-ray Diffractometer
Thw X-ray Diffraction Laboratory at CCiTUB , has acquired a new multi-purpose X-ray powder diffractometer, the Anton Paar XRDynamic 500. This cutting-edge equipment, recently introduced to the market complements the laboratory's instruments, providing valuable features for both industrial and research applications. The newly acquired equipment, resulting from a collaboration with Anton Paar, is now operational and available to users.
Equipment Features
The main distinctive features of this multi-purpose equipment include an increased goniometric radius of 360 or 400 mm and the evacuation of the X-ray beam trajectory, both in the incident beam (primary optics) and the diffracted beam (secondary optics and detector).
The equipment features a Cu X-ray tube and four incident beam configurations/optics: Bragg-Brentano with Ni filter, Bragg-Brentano with flat monochromator, parallel optics with parabolic multilayer mirror, and focusing optics with elliptical multilayer mirror. Three of these configurations are automatically interchangeable (the two Bragg Brentano and one of the two with a multilayer mirror, either parabolic or elliptical).
Additionally, it is equipped with Soller Slits of 0.05 and 0.025 radians in the incident and diffracted beams, also interchangeable automatically. There is also the possibility of automatic exchange with a collimator of parallel platelets of 0.005 radians in the diffracted beam, and a Pixos 2000 photon counting detector, with Si sensor, 0D and 1D modes, active area of 14 mm x 14 mm, 256 x 256 pixels, and a pixel size of 55 µm x 55 µm.
The XRDynamic 500 offers a standard sample holder platform with a spinner. Additionally, it features a CHC+ chamber for temperature-dependent measurements (from -196 to 400 ºC, currently prepared for measurements from -5 to 400 ºC) and relative humidity-dependent measurements (5 to 95% RH, 10 to 80 ºC).
On the other hand, an evacuable sample holder platform, EVAC module, is also available, enabling measurements with maximum resolution with a 400 mm radius and a vacuum in 95% of the beam trajectory. It is designed for mounting samples for Small-Angle X-ray Scattering (SAXS) and X-ray Diffraction at low angles, qmin=0.05 nm-1, particle sizes up to 60 nm (Dmax=60nm) (dmax≈120 nm).
Applications
As a multi-purpose X-ray diffractometer, it can perform typical XRD applications such as crystallinity and crystalline phase analysis, identification and quantification, as well as structural and microstructural characterizations. These applications can be conducted on virtually all types of solid powder or polycrystalline samples, including minerals, metals, construction materials, ceramics, polymers, nanomaterials, layered materials/pristine layers (XRD and GIXRD Grazing Incidence XRD).
For non-ambient XRD non-ambient XRD conditions, the equipment is explicitly prepared to install a variety of devices. Currently, with the CHC+ chamber, studies on phase transitions and structural changes can be carried out as a function of temperature (-5 to 400 ºC) and relative humidity (5 to 95% RH, 10 to 80 ºC), for example, in organic pharmaceuticals, organometallics, polymers, etc.
Moreover, with the EVAC module, it can provide specialized SAXS characterizations (qmin=0.05 nm-1) in transmission, allowing the measurement of nanostructured and biological samples. In reflection, it enables GISAXS (Grazing Incidence SAXS) characterizations for layered materials. This includes studies such as particle size and distribution determinations (Dmax=60 nm) and morphology of nanoparticles, specific surface area determinations in porous materials, size, shape, and polydispersity determinations in colloidal materials, etc.