The pre-peak in the X-ray scattering patterns of ionic liquids is not always due to alkyl chains. In choline–proline (a bio-compatible ionic liquid), it is due to second-shell cation–cation distances.
AbstractUsing fluctuation microscopy, we show that ion-implanted amorphous silicon has more medium-range order than is expected from the continuous random network model. From our previous work on evaporated and sputtered amorphous silicon, we conclude that the structure is paracrystalline, i.e. it possesses crystalline-like order which decays with distance from any point. The observation might pose an explanation for the large heat of relaxation that is evolved by ion-implanted amorphous semiconductors.
Comparative anomalous small-angle x-ray scattering study of hotwire and plasma grown amorphous silicon–germanium alloys