In-situ understanding of pore nucleation and growth in polyurethane foams by using real-time synchrotron X-ray tomography

Abstract We present a review of a unique non-destructive method for the real-time monitoring of phase transformations and nano-pore evolution in dehydrating rocks: transmission small- and wide-angle synchrotron X-ray scattering (SAXS/WAXS). It is shown how SAXS/WAXS can be applied to investigating rock samples dehydrated in a purpose-built loading cell that allows the coeval application of high temperature, axial confinement, and fluid pressure or flow to the specimen. Because synchrotron sources deliver extremely bright monochromatic X-rays across a wide energy spectrum, they enable the in situ examination of confined rock samples with thicknesses of ≤ 1 mm at a time resolution of order seconds. Hence, fast kinetics with reaction completion times of about hundreds of seconds can be tracked. With beam sizes of order tens to hundreds of micrometres, it is possible to monitor multiple interrogation points in a sample with a lateral extent of a few centimetres, thus resolving potential lateral spatial effects during dehydration and enlarging sample statistics significantly. Therefore, the SAXS/WAXS method offers the opportunity to acquire data on a striking range of length scales: for rock samples with thicknesses of ≤ 10-3 m and widths of 10-2 m, a lateral interrogation-point spacing of ≥ 10-5 m can be achieved. Within each irradiated interrogation-point volume, information concerning pores with sizes between 10-9 and 10-7 m and the crystal lattice on the scale of 10-10 m is acquired in real time. This article presents a summary of the physical principles underpinning transmission X-ray scattering with the aim of providing a guide for the design and interpretation of time-resolved SAXS/WAXS experiments. It is elucidated (1) when and how SAXS data can be used to analyse total porosity, internal surface area, and pore-size distributions in rocks on length scales from ∼1 to 300 nm; (2) how WAXS can be employed to track lattice transformations in situ; and (3) which limitations and complicating factors should be considered during experimental design, data analysis, and interpretation. To illustrate the key capabilities of the SAXS/WAXS method, we present a series of dehydration experiments on a well-studied natural gypsum rock: Volterra alabaster. Our results demonstrate that SAXS/WAXS is excellently suited for the in situ tracking of dehydration kinetics and the associated evolution of nano-pores. The phase transformation from gypsum to bassanite is correlated directly with nano-void growth on length scales between 1 and 11 nm for the first time. A comparison of the SAXS/WAXS kinetic results with literature data emphasises the need for future dehydration experiments on rock specimens because of the impact of rock fabric and the generally heterogeneous and transient nature of dehydration reactions in nature. It is anticipated that the SAXS/WAXS method combined with in situ loading cells will constitute an invaluable tool in the ongoing quest for understanding dehydration and other mineral replacement reactions in rocks quantitatively.

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Carbonate-cancrinite: In-situ real-time thermal processes studied by means of energy-dispersive X-ray powder-diffractometry

Powder Diffraction ◽

10.1017/s0885715600014676 ◽

1995 ◽

Vol 10 (3) ◽

pp. 173-177 ◽

Cited By ~ 5

Author(s):

P. Ballirano ◽

A. Maras ◽

R. Caminiti ◽

C. Sadun

Keyword(s):

Real Time ◽

Room Temperature ◽

Rietveld Analysis ◽

Molecular Water ◽

Heating Process ◽

Thermal Processes ◽

X Ray ◽

Reversible Phase Transition ◽

Reversible Phase

New powder X-ray data for cancrinite [ideally Na8Si6Al6O24 (CO3)2·2 H2O] are reported along with in-situ real-time thermal processes recorded using energy dispersive X-ray diffractometry (EDXD). A completely anhydrous phase is obtained after heating the sample up to 600 °C and quickly cooling it to room temperature, as shown by means of both Rietveld analysis and IR spectroscopy. The anhydrous phase does not show any tendency to re-acquire molecular water. During the heating process, at around 450 °C, a peak splitting is observed, possibly due to a reversible phase transition.

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In situ X-ray Diffraction Investigation of the Crystallisation of Perfluorinated Ce(IV)-based Metal-Organic Frameworks with UiO-66 and MIL-140 architectures

10.26434/chemrxiv.13252544 ◽

2020 ◽

Author(s):

Stephen Shearan ◽

Jannick Jacobsen ◽

Ferdinando Costantino ◽

Roberto D’Amato ◽

Dmitri Novikov ◽

...

Keyword(s):

Crystal Growth ◽

Metal Organic Frameworks ◽

Building Blocks ◽

Nucleation And Growth ◽

X Ray Diffraction ◽

X Ray ◽

Rate Determining Step ◽

Wide Range ◽

Metal Organic

We report on the results of a thorough in situ synchrotron powder X-ray diffraction study of the crystallisation in aqueous medium of two recently discovered perfluorinated Ce(IV)-based metal-organic frameworks (MOFs), analogues of the already well investigated Zr(IV)-based UiO-66 and MIL-140A, namely, F4_UiO-66(Ce) and F4_MIL-140A(Ce). The two MOFs were originally obtained in pure form in similar conditions, using ammonium cerium nitrate and tetrafluoroterephthalic acid as building blocks, and small variations of the reaction parameters were found to yield mixed phases. Here, we investigate the crystallisation of these compounds in situ in a wide range of conditions, varying parameters such as temperature, amount of the protonation modulator nitric acid (HNO3) and amount of the coordination modulator acetic acid (AcOH). When only HNO3 is present in the reaction environment, F4_MIL-140A(Ce) is obtained as a pure phase. Heating preferentially accelerates nucleation, which becomes rate determining below 57 °C, whereas the modulator influences nucleation and crystal growth to a similar extent. Upon addition of AcOH to the system, alongside HNO3, mixed-phased products, consisting of F4_MIL-140A(Ce) and F4_UiO-66(Ce), are obtained. In these conditions, F4_UiO-66(Ce) is always formed faster and no interconversion between the two phases occurs. In the case of F4_UiO-66(Ce), crystal growth is always the rate determining step. An increase in the amount of HNO3 slows down both nucleation and growth rates for F4_MIL-140A(Ce), whereas nucleation is mainly affected for F4_UiO-66(Ce). In addition, a higher amount HNO3 favours the formation of F4_MIL-140A(Ce). Similarly, increasing the amount of AcOH leads to slowing down of the nucleation and growth rate, but favours the formation of F4_UiO-66(Ce). The pure F4_UiO-66(Ce) phase could also be obtained when using larger amounts of AcOH in the presence of minimal HNO3. Based on these in situ results, a new optimised route to achieving a pure, high quality F4_MIL-140A(Ce) phase in mild conditions (60 °C, 1 h) is also identified.

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Dynamics of the nanocrystal structure and composition in growth solutions monitored by in situ lab-scale X-ray diffraction

Nanoscale ◽

10.1039/d1nr05371j ◽

2021 ◽

Author(s):

Helena Fridman ◽

Michael Volokh ◽

Taleb Mokari

Keyword(s):

Real Time ◽

Growth Dynamics ◽

X Ray Diffraction ◽

X Ray ◽

Nanocrystal Growth ◽

Novel Approach ◽

Phase Size ◽

Time Observation ◽

Real Time Observation

Nanocrystal growth dynamics are investigated by a novel approach: real-time observation of nanocrystals in growth solutions using lab-scale in situ X-ray diffraction. The method reveals the evolution of crystal phase, size, shape, and composition.

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Real-time synthesis and detection of plasmonic metal (Au, Ag) nanoparticles under monochromatic X-ray nano-tomography

Scientific Reports ◽

10.1038/s41598-020-77853-x ◽

2020 ◽

Vol 10 (1) ◽

Author(s):

Amardeep Bharti ◽

Keun Hwa Chae ◽

Navdeep Goyal

Keyword(s):

Particle Size ◽

Real Time ◽

Reduction Process ◽

Localized Surface Plasmon ◽

Plasmonic Nanostructures ◽

X Rays ◽

X Ray ◽

The Real ◽

Size And Shape

AbstractPlasmonic nanostructures are of immense interest of research due to its widespread applications in microelectronics, photonics, and biotechnology, because of its size and shape-dependent localized surface plasmon resonance response. The great efforts have been constructed by physicists, chemists, and material scientists to deliver optimized reaction protocol to tailor the size and shape of nanostructures. Real-time characterization emerges out as a versatile tool in perspective to the optimization of synthesis parameters. Moreover, in the past decades, radiation-induced reduction of metallic-salt to nanoparticles dominates over the conventional direct chemical reduction process which overcomes the production of secondary products and yields ultra-high quality and pure nanostructures. Here we show, the real-time/in-situ synthesis and detection of plasmonic (Au andAg) nanoparticles using single synchrotron monochromatic 6.7 keV X-rays based Nano-Tomography beamline. The real-time X-ray nano-tomography of plasmonic nanostructures has been first-time successfully achieved at such a low-energy that would be leading to the possibility of these experiments at laboratory-based sources. In-situ optical imaging confirms the radiolysis of water molecule resulting in the production of $$e_{aq}^-,\,OH^\bullet ,$$ e aq - , O H ∙ , and $$O_2^-$$ O 2 - under X-ray irradiation. The obtained particle-size and size-distribution by X-ray tomography are in good agreement to TEM results. The effect of different chemical environment media on the particle-size has also been studied. This work provides the protocol to precisely control the size of nanostructures and to synthesize the ultrahigh-purity grade monodisperse nanoparticles that would definitely enhance the phase-contrast in cancer bio-imaging and plasmonic photovoltaic application.

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