ID11 is a multi-purpose high-energy beamline at the European Synchrotron Radiation Facility (ESRF). Owing to the high-energy X-ray source (up to 140 keV) and flexible, high-precision sample mounting which allows small sample–detector distances to be achieved, experiments such as total scattering in transmission geometry are possible. This permits the exploration of a wide Q range and so provides high real-space resolution. A range of samples (glasses and crystalline powders) have been measured at 78 keV, first putting the detector as close as possible to the sample (~10 cm), and then moving it vertically and laterally with respect to the beam in order to have circular and quarter circle sections of diffraction rings, with consequent Q MAX at the edge of the detector of about 16 and 28 Å−1, respectively. Data were integrated using FIT2D, and then normalized and corrected with PDFgetX3. Results have been compared to see the effects of Q-range and counting statistics on the atomic pair distribution functions of the different samples. A Q of at least 20 Å−1 was essential to have sufficient real-space resolution for both type of samples while statistics appeared more important for glass samples rather than for crystalline samples.

Selected hydrides (TiH2, ZrH2), chlorides (VCl3, ScCl3) or oxides (V2O5) utilized as additives facilitating hydrogen release and uptake for magnesium hydride were investigated using mechano-chemical treatment and in-situ synchrotron radiation powder X-ray diffraction studies. The fastest hydrogen desorption and absorption kinetics for MgH2 was observed for a sample with 5 mol% V2O5 at 320 °C. Additional activation of the system (2 cycles, vacuum/p(H2) ~150 bar, 450 °C) leads to significant improvement of the kinetics even at lower temperatures, 270 °C. The observed prolific effect is achieved through the full reduction of vanadium oxides and formation of an efficient vanadium catalyst as nanoparticles and possibly interfacial effects in the MgO/Mg/MgH2/V system introduced during cycling hydrogen release and uptake in hydrogen/dynamic vacuum at 450 °C. Nanostructuring as well as hydrogen permeability via vanadium nanoparticles may improve kinetics and reduce the apparent activation energy for hydrogen release. Thus, the enhancement of hydrogen release/uptake in the MgH2 owe to “in situ” formation of vanadium nanoparticles by reduction of V2O5.

Diblock copolymers (BCPs) show phase separation on mesoscopic length scales and form ordered morphologies in both bulk and thin films, the latter resulting in nanostructured surfaces. Morphologies in thin films are strongly influenced by film parameters, the ratio of film thickness and bulk domain spacing. Laterally structured polymer surfaces may serve as templates for controlled assembly of nanoparticles (NPs). We investigated the BCP of poly(n-pentyl methacrylate) and poly(methyl methacrylate) which show bulk morphologies of stacked lamellae or hexagonally packed cylinders. Thin films were investigated by atomic force microscopy and grazing-incidence small-angle X-ray scattering. For film thicknesses f well below d bulk, standing cylinder morphologies were observed in appropriate molar ratios, while film thicknesses around and larger than d bulk resulted in cylinders arranged parallel to surface. To alter and/or improve the morphology also in presence of different NPs (e.g., silica, gold), solvent vapour annealing (SVA) was applied. The BCP morphology usually remains unchanged but periodicities change depending on type and amount of incorporated NPs. It was found that silica clusters enlarge lateral distances of cylinders, whereas Au NPs reduce it. The effect of SVA is weak. The quality of morphology is slightly improved by SVA and lateral distances remain constant or are slightly reduced.

We report on the analysis of virtual powder-diffraction patterns from serial femtosecond crystallography (SFX) data collected at an X-ray free-electron laser. Different approaches to binning and normalizing these patterns are discussed with respect to the microstructural characteristics which each highlights. Analysis of SFX data from a powder of Pr0.5Ca0.5MnO3 in this way finds evidence of other trace phases in its microstructure which was not detectable in a standard powder-diffraction measurement. Furthermore, a comparison between two virtual powder pattern integration strategies is shown to yield different diffraction peak broadening, indicating sensitivity to different types of microstrain. This paper is a first step in developing new data analysis methods for microstructure characterization from serial crystallography data.

For the first time evidence is provided that a nanocrystalline and stacking-disordered, chemically stabilized β-cristobalite form of AlPO4 occurs in a sewage sludge ash (SSA). This proof is based on a combined X-ray powder diffraction and X-ray fluorescence investigation of an SSA produced at a large-scale fluidized bed incineration facility serving a catching area with a population of 2 million. The structural and chemical characterization was carried out on ‘as received’ SSA samples as well as on solid residues remaining after leaching this SSA in sodium hydroxide solution. Thus, it was ascertained that the observed nanocrystalline and stacking-disordered cristobalite-like component belongs to the aluminum phosphate component of this SSA, rather than to its silicon dioxide component. In addition, a direct proof is presented that the chemically stabilized β-cristobalite form of AlPO4 does crystallize from X-ray amorphous precursors under conditions that mimic the huge heating rate and short retention time (just seconds at T ≈ 850°C), typical for fluidized bed incinerators.

An example of commercially available product, 2-(methylideneamino)acetonitrile (MAAN). This paper will address problems in discerning monomer–polymer ambiguity in organic compounds. Reliable three-step analysis of organic polymers will be proposed using the synergy of computational [density functional theory (DFT)] and experimental [infrared spectroscopy (IR); X-ray powder diffraction (XRPD)] techniques. First, possible conformations of monomeric and trimeric MAAN were calculated using stochastic search and DFT. Second, identification of the commercial sample was performed by comparing the measured IR spectrum with those calculated for monomer and trimer. Third, the examination of sample purity and structural analysis were carried out using XRPD data.

Properties of a special double-crystal (DC) monochromator employing bent-perfect crystals of Si in (1, −1) and (n, −m) settings are presented. The first monochromator was the bent Si(111) crystal (4 mm thickness) and the second one was in the form of a sandwich consisting of two bent Si(111) and Si(220) slabs (2 and 1.3 mm thickness, respectively). It has been found that by a simple exchange of diffraction conditions on the second monochromator one can use either Si(111) + Si(111) bent crystals in (1, −1) setting providing good luminosity and worse diffractometer resolution or Si(111) + Si(220) bent crystals in quasi-dispersive (n, −m) setting providing very good diffractometer resolution and correspondingly weaker luminosity. It has been found that besides an excellent focusing and reflectivity properties of the dispersive double-bent-crystal setting the obtained monochromatic neutron current is sufficiently high for diffraction experiments even at the medium-power research reactor.

A powder obtained by ball milling a commercial FeMo alloy has been identified and investigated as possible reference material for powder diffraction line profile analysis. Ball milling yields micrometer-scale agglomerate particles made of rounded nanocrystalline domains with extensive lattice defects, so as to produce both size and strain contributions to the line profiles. The capability of a modern whole-powder pattern modeling to accurately quantify those aspects and the stability of the powder over a decade are shown and discussed.

Two series of zirconium samples were investigated by neutron and X-ray diffraction. First series of the samples was deformed at room temperature (RT), whereas the second series was deformed at 300 °C. Both series were deformed on uniaxial tensile machine INSTRON 5882 from strain 0 to 30% (strain step was 5%). The neutronographic texture measurements were performed on the KSN-2 neutron diffractometer located at the research reactor LVR-15 in the Nuclear Research Institute, plc. Rez, Czech Republic. The X-ray measurements were performed at the theta/theta X'Pert PRO diffractometer with the Cr X-ray tube. Observed data were processed by the software packages GSAS and X'Pert Texture. Preferential orientation of the $\left({10\bar 10} \right)$ and $\left({11\bar 20} \right)$ plane poles is found to be parallel to the rolling direction for both tested deformation series. Poles of the $\lpar 10\bar 12\rpar $ and $\lpar 10\bar 13\rpar $ planes tend to be parallel to the normal direction (Tables II and III). Orientation of the basal poles is tilted by 45° from the normal direction toward the transverse direction. Sharpness of the resulting texture increases with extends of the applied deformation as well as with rise of the tensile test temperature from the RT level to 300 °C.

Most synchrotron radiation X-ray diffraction (XRD) beamlines have been primarily designed for studying conventional materials, whereas a modern approach to nanomaterials requires a complete control of the diffracted signal, and therefore of the optics and general setup of the beamline. This requirement is especially relevant when Line Profile Analysis is pushed to the limits of large domain sizes, small deformations, or low defects concentration, which is a driving force to use synchrotron radiation XRD. We combine the SHADOW ray-tracing optical simulation with the calculation of powder diffraction profile from standard materials, into a high-level workflow environment based on the ORANGE software. Algorithms are developed to reproduce optical elements in a realistic form, so to evaluate the effects of aberrations, with the final purpose of reconstructing the Instrumental Profile Function of the beamline, with the possibility of investigating the role of each separate element. The results of this work can be of interest to most beamlines as a powerful tool for the design of setups of existing as well as new beamlines.

Total scattering data of nanocrystalline gahnite (ZnAl2O4, 2–3 nm) have been collected with three of the most commonly used instruments: (i) ID31 high-resolution diffractometer at the European Synchrotron Radiation Facility (ESRF) (Q max = 22 Å−1); (ii) ID11 high-energy beamline at the ESRF (Q max = 26.6 Å−1); and (iii) Empyrean laboratory diffractometer by PANalytical with molybdenum anode X-ray tube (Q max = 17.1 Å−1). Pair distribution functions (PDFs) for each instrument data-set have been obtained, changing some of the parameters, by PDFgetX3 software, with the aim of testing the software in the treatment of different total scattering data. The material under analysis has been chosen for its nanometric (and possibly disordered) nature, to give rise to a challenge for all the diffractometers involved. None of the latter should have a clear advantage. The PDF and F(Q) functions have been visually compared, and then the three PDF sets have been used for refinements by means of PDFgui suite. All the refinements have been made exactly in the same way for the sake of a fair comparison. Small differences could be observed in the experimental PDFs and the derived results, but none of them seemed to be significant.

Dioctahedral smectites are clay minerals that widely used as a crucial component for the edifice of natural barriers in industrial wastes and wastewater treatment. The hydration behaviours of these mineral types are very sensitive by environmental surroundings changes. The present work focuses the evolution of the interlayer water amount as a function of the relative humidity rates (RH), varied along a humidifying-drying cycle, in the case of two dioctahedral smectites with different charge location (i.e. Wyoming montmorillonite SWy-2 and Beidellite SbId-1). The CEC (i.e. cation exchange capacity) of the studied sample is saturated by two monovalent cations (i.e., Cs+ and Na+) characterized by a different ionic radius. The X-ray diffraction (XRD) profile modelling tools based on the indirect method that consist on the comparison of experimental 00l reflections with other calculated from structural models is used to perform these aims. The qualitative XRD profile investigation suggests heterogeneous hydration behaviour at different stage of the cycle for all studied samples. The water content fluctuation, confirmed by the appearance of a hydration hysteresis, within the interlamellar space of diverse complexes is an irreversible process during the shrinking–rewetting sequence. Comparing to Na+ cations, the presence of the Cs+ ions in exchangeable sites of both smectite structures is accompanied by more orderliness of systems, which retunes the lowest water molecules amount over the applied cycle.

In situ laboratory-based and in situ synchrotron X-ray diffraction techniques were employed to study quantitatively the strain-induced austenite-to-martensite (A–M) transformation in thermally cycled (TC) superelastic NiTi alloys. The propagation of the A–M interfaces and the evolution of the microstructure were traced during uniaxial tensile loading. It was shown that the TC material exhibits localized transformation via the propagation of transformation bands. The amount of the martensite phase depends approximately linearly on the applied strain. Analysis of the broadening of the austenite diffraction lines indicates the presence of highly deformed austenite grains within the transformation bands. Analysis of the austenite diffraction-line shifts indicates that the overall lattice strain in the (retained) austenite in the transformation bands differs from that of the austenite in the adjacent untransformed regions.

Boriding is a thermochemical diffusion-based process of achieving ultra-hard surface on metals. Two distinct crystalline phases, i.e. tetragonal Fe2B and orthorhombic FeB can exist in the surface layer penetrated by boron ions. In our contribution, we have studied the microstructure, the hardness, and the spatial distributions of both phase composition and residual stresses (RS) in samples exhibiting either single-phase Fe2B or duplex Fe2B-cum-FeB character. The indispensable knowledge of the elastic constants used in the stresses calculations from the measured strains by X-ray diffraction were gained from the refined lattice parameters of both iron borides employing density functional theory implemented in CASTEP software by Materials Studio. In the studied case, there is only minor occurrence of preferred orientation in the Fe2B phase and the evaluated RS have compressive character gradually decreasing from its maximum value on the very surface.

Among the microstructure defects in hexagonal graphitic boron nitride, the basal plane corrugations are of high relevance for the sp2 to sp3 phase transition under high pressures (HP) and high temperatures (HT). A microstructure model is described, which is capable of quantifying the amplitude of the basal plane corrugations on the basis of the anisotropic X-ray diffraction line broadening. It is illustrated that this model correctly reproduces the specific shape of the diffraction lines from corrugated basal planes, i.e., the characteristic splitting of the 00l peaks. The results from XRD are verified by direct observation in the transmission electron microscope with high resolution. Subsequent HP/HT experiments were performed in order to highlight the difference in the phase transition kinetics between hexagonal boron nitride samples with different amount of basal plane corrugations. The effect of these microstructure defects on the conversion rate and on the obtained synthesis product is discussed.

Structural measurements have been performed on the La0.7Sr0.3Mn3+ 0.85Nb5+ 0.15O3 compound with oxidation state of manganese close to +3. The composition undergoes a structural transition from rhombohedral to orthorhombic symmetry below room temperature. The calculated structural parameters show that the orthorhombic phase is not long-range orbitally ordered and that the structural transition is associated with a steric effect. The compound is ferromagnetic with a Curie point of around 150 K and a magnetic moment of 3.1 μ B/Mn. It is suggested that ferromagnetism is originated from superexchange interactions via oxygen. Covalence enhances the positive part of the superexchange interactions whereas structural disorder leads to suppression of ferromagnetism.

New phosphates Ca9–xPbxEu(PO4)7 were obtained by solid state reaction techniques at 1213–1253 K in air atmosphere and were found to be isotypic with whitlockite-type β-Ca3(PO4)2. The unit cell parameters were determinate using Le Bail decomposition. Rietveld method structural refining showed that Eu3+ ions are located statistically with calcium in M1, M2, and M3 sites, whereas Pb2+-ions are preferentially located in the M3. Examination of optical second harmonic generation evidences nonlinear optical activity and confirms polar space group R3c.

The method of degree of inversion calculation presented in the present paper was based on the determination of several temperature-dependent parameters such as: oxygen positional parameter, lattice parameter, cation site occupancies, and a cation–anion distance in tetrahedral and octahedral sites. The theoretical basis of the method as well as the required derivation of formulae and the conditions of its application has been described.

The values of the measured temperature-dependent parameters were used to calculate the degree of inversion vs. temperature in the spinel structure. Initial temperatures of the order–disorder transformation were determined. The described method of investigating the order–disorder phase transformation based on three examples of spinel solid solutions: Mg(Al0.5Fe0.5)2O4, (Mg0.75Ni0.25)Al2O4, and (Mg0.75Co0.25)Al2O4 has been presented. Investigations by means of the high-temperature X-ray diffraction method at temperatures ranging from 25 to 1100 °C were carried out. It has been shown that using the present method, it is possible to determine the distribution of each cation in tetrahedral and octahedral sites at each temperature. In consequence, the unidirectional order–disorder phase transformation as well the bidirectional transformation in the spinel structure can be investigated. The advantages and disadvantages of the method have been discussed and its uncertainties presented.

Hydrothermally altered rocks hosting precious metal deposits frequently contain stacking disordered layer silicates. X-ray diffraction analysis using the Rietveld method can be used to determine mineral abundances in these rocks if suitable disorder models are applied. It is shown here that disorder models of kaolinite and pyrophyllite can be described by a recursive calculation of structure factors. This permits the physically sound refinement of real structure parameters of these disordered minerals and the determination of mineral abundances. Even mixtures containing two disordered Si–Al layer silicates can be quantified reliably. The developed disorder models can now be implemented in routine phase analysis, allowing the quantification of large numbers of samples to identify mineralogical gradients surrounding ore deposits.