Explore the vast range of titles available.

Scattering techniques represent non-invasive experimental approaches and powerful tools for the investigation of structure and conformation of biomaterial systems in a wide range of distances, ranging from the nanometric to micrometric scale. More specifically, small-angle X-rays and neutron scattering and light scattering techniques represent well-established experimental techniques for the investigation of the structural properties of biomaterials and, through the use of suitable models, they allow to study and mimic various biological systems under physiologically relevant conditions. They provide the ensemble averaged (and then statistically relevant) information under in situ and operando conditions, and represent useful tools complementary to the various traditional imaging techniques that, on the contrary, reveal more local structural information. Together with the classical structure characterization approaches, we introduce the basic concepts that make it possible to examine inter-particles interactions, and to study the growth processes and conformational changes in nanostructures, which have become increasingly relevant for an accurate understanding and prediction of various mechanisms in the fields of biotechnology and nanotechnology. The upgrade of the various scattering techniques, such as the contrast variation or time resolved experiments, offers unique opportunities to study the nano- and mesoscopic structure and their evolution with time in a way not accessible by other techniques. For this reason, highly performant instruments are installed at most of the facility research centers worldwide. These new insights allow to largely ameliorate the control of (chemico-physical and biologic) processes of complex (bio-)materials at the molecular length scales, and open a full potential for the development and engineering of a variety of nano-scale biomaterials for advanced applications.

A two-dimensional (2D) Anger camera detector has been used at the HB-3A four-circle single-crystal neutron diffractometer at the High Flux Isotope Reactor (HFIR) since 2013. The 2D detector has enabled the capabilities of measuring sub-mm crystals and spin density maps, enhanced the efficiency of data collection and phase transition detection, and improved the signal-to-noise ratio. Recently, the HB-3A four-circle diffractometer has been undergoing a detector upgrade towards a much larger area, magnetic-field-insensitive, Anger camera detector. The instrument will become capable of doing single-crystal neutron diffraction under ultra-low temperatures (50 mK), magnetic fields (up to 8 T), electric fields (up to 11 kV/mm), and hydrostatic high pressures (up to 45 GPa). Furthermore, half-polarized neutron diffraction is also available to measure weak ferromagnetism and local site magnetic susceptibilities. With the new high-resolution 2D detector, the four-circle diffractometer has become more powerful for studying magnetic materials under extreme sample environment conditions; hence, it has been given a new name: DEMAND.

We describe in this paper the experimental procedure, the data treatment and the quantification of the black body correction: an experimental approach to compensate for scattering and systematic biases in quantitative neutron imaging based on experimental data. The correction algorithm is based on two steps; estimation of the scattering component and correction using an enhanced normalization formula. The method incorporates correction terms into the image normalization procedure, which usually only includes open beam and dark current images (open beam correction). Our aim is to show its efficiency and reproducibility: we detail the data treatment procedures and quantitatively investigate the effect of the correction. Its implementation is included within the open source CT reconstruction software MuhRec. The performance of the proposed algorithm is demonstrated using simulated and experimental CT datasets acquired at the ICON and NEUTRA beamlines at the Paul Scherrer Institut.

The deformation behavior of additively manufactured Alloy 718 in as-built condition and after annealing was studied in situ under tensile loading along the build direction. Pre-characterization by synchrotron X-ray diffraction and electron microscopy revealed a significant amount of γ ″ precipitates in the as-built samples, whereas the γ ″ phase was entirely consumed and needle-like δ precipitates appeared in the annealed sample. In situ neutron diffraction (ND) and acoustic emission (AE) enabled indirect observation of the role of the precipitates on the mechanical behavior. ND provided information on the load accommodation in the matrix, while AE detected a strong signal from the interaction of dislocations with the δ -phase precipitates during deformation of the annealed samples. The results imply that in the annealed samples the matrix sheds the load to the precipitates, while in the as-built material the matrix bares a significant load.

The compound BiFe0.7Mn0.3O3 consisting at room temperature of coexistent anti-polar orthorhombic and polar rhombohedral phases has a metastable structural state, which has been studied by laboratory X-ray, synchrotron and neutron diffraction, magnetometry, differential thermal analysis, and differential scanning calorimetry. Thermal annealing of the sample at temperatures above the temperature-driven phase transition into the single phase rhombohedral structure (~700 K) causes an increase of the volume fraction of the rhombohedral phase at room temperature from ~10% up to ~30%, which is accompanied by the modification of the magnetic state, leading to strengthening of a ferromagnetic component. A strong external magnetic field (~5 T) applied to the sample notably changes its magnetic properties, as well as provides a reinforcement of the ferromagnetic component, thus leading to an interaction between two magnetic subsystems formed by the antiferromagnetic matrix with non-collinear alignment of magnetic moments and the nanoscale ferromagnetic clusters coexisting within it. The modification of the structural state and magnetic properties of the compounds and a correlation between different structural and magnetic phases are discussed focusing on the effect of thermal annealing and the impact of an external magnetic field.

Ettringite, reported with ideal formula Ca Al (SO (OH) ·26H O, is recognized as a secondary-alteration mineral and as an important crystalline constituent of Portland cements, playing different roles at different time scales. It contains more than 40 wt% of H O. The crystal structure and crystal chemistry of ettringite were investigated by electron microprobe analysis in wavelength-dispersive mode, infrared spectroscopy, and single-crystal neutron diffraction at 20 K. The anisotropic neutron structure refinement allowed the location of (22+2) independent H sites, the description of their anisotropic vibrational regime and the complex hydrogen-bonding schemes. Analysis of the difference-Fourier maps of the nuclear density showed a disordered distribution of the inter-column (“free”) H O molecules of the ettringite structure, modeled (in the structure refinement) with two independent and mutually exclusive configurations. As the disorder is still preserved down to 20 K, we are inclined to consider that as a “static disorder.” The structure of ettringite is largely held together by hydrogen bonding: the building units [i.e., SO tetrahedra, Al(OH) octahedra, and Ca(OH) (H O) polyhedra] are interconnected through an extensive network of hydrogen bonds. The ettringite of this study has ideal composition Ca Al (SO (OH) ·27H O, with (Mn+Fe+Si+Ti+Na+Ba) < 0.04 atoms per formula unit. The effect of the low-temperature stability of ettringite and thaumasite on the pronounced “Sulfate Attack” of Portland cements, observed in cold regions, is discussed.

The crystal structure and crystal chemistry of kurnakovite from Kramer Deposit (Kern County, California), ideally MgB3O3(OH)5·5H2O, were investigated by single-crystal neutron diffraction (data collected at 293 and 20 K) and by a series of analytical techniques aimed to determine its chemical composition. The concentration of more than 50 elements was measured. The empirical formula of the sample used in this study is Mg0.99(Si0.01B3.00)Σ3.01O3.00(OH)5·4.98H2O. The fraction of rare earth elements (REE) and other minor elements are, overall, insignificant. Even the content of fluorine, as a potential OH-group substituent, is insignificant (i.e., ~0.008 wt%). The neutron structure model obtained in this study, based on intensity data collected at 293 and 20 K, shows that the structure of kurnakovite contains: [BO2(OH)]-groups in planar-triangular coordination (with the B-ions in sp2 electronic configuration), [BO2(OH)2]-groups in tetrahedral coordination (with the B-ions in sp3 electronic configuration), and Mg(OH)2(H2O)4-octahedra, connected into (neutral) Mg(H2O)4B3O3(OH)5 units forming infinite chains running along [001]. Chains are mutually connected to give the tri-dimensional structure only via hydrogen bonding, and extra-chains \"zeolitic\" H2O molecules are also involved as \"bridging molecules.\" All the oxygen sites in the structure of kurnakovite are involved in hydrogen bonding, as donors or as acceptors. The principal implications of these results are: (1) kurnakovite does not act as a geochemical trap of industrially relevant elements (e.g., Li, Be, or REE), (2) the almost ideal composition makes kurnakovite a potentially good B-rich aggregate in concretes (for example, used for the production of radiation-shielding materials for the elevated ability of 10B to absorb thermal neutrons), which avoids the risk to release undesirable elements, for example sodium, that could promote deleterious reactions for the durability of cements.

In situ neutron diffraction measurements were completed during tensile and compressive deformation of stainless steel 304L additively manufactured (AM) using a high power directed energy deposition process. Traditionally produced wrought 304L material was also studied for comparison. The AM material exhibited roughly 200 MPa higher flow stress relative to the wrought material. Crystallite size, crystallographic texture, dislocation density, and lattice strains were all characterized to understand the differences in the macroscopic mechanical behavior. The AM material’s initial dislocation density was about 10 times that of the wrought material, and the flow strength of both materials obeyed the Taylor equation, indicating that the AM material’s increased yield strength was primarily due to greater dislocation density. Also, a ~50 MPa flow strength tension/compression asymmetry was observed in the AM material, and several potential causes were examined.

Fe–Ga alloys (GalFeNOLs) are the focus of attention due to their enhanced magneto-elastic properties, namely, magnetostriction in low saturation magnetic fields. In the last several years, special attention has been paid to the anelastic properties of these alloys. In this review, we collected and analyzed the frequency-, amplitude-, and temperature-dependent anelasticity in Fe–Ga and Fe–Ga-based alloys in the Hertz range of forced and free-decay vibrations. Special attention is paid to anelasticity caused by phase transitions: for this purpose, in situ neutron diffraction tests with the same heating or cooling rates were carried out in parallel with temperature dependencies measurements to control ctructure and phase transitions. The main part of this review is devoted to anelastic effects in binary Fe–Ga alloys, but we also consider ternary alloys of the systems Fe–Ga–Al and Fe–Ga–RE (RE—Rare Earth elements) to discuss similarities and differences between anelastic properties in Fe–Ga and Fe–Al alloys and effect of RE elements. We report and discuss several thermally activated effects, including Zener- and Snoek-type relaxation, several transient anelastic phenomena caused by phase transitions (D03 ↔ A2, D03 → L12, L12 ↔ D019, D019 ↔ B2, Fe13Ga9 → L12+Fe6Ga5 phases), and their influence on the above-mentioned thermally activated effects. We also report amplitude-dependent damping caused by dislocations and magnetic domain walls and try to understand the paradox between the Smith–Birchak model predicting higher damping capacity for materials with higher saturation magnetostriction and existing experimental results. The main attention in this review is paid to alloys with 17–20 and 25–30%Ga as the alloys with the best functional (magnetostriction) properties. Nevertheless, we provide information on a broader range of alloys from 6 to 45%Ga. Due to the limited space, we do not discuss other mechanical and physical properties in depth but focus on anelasticity. A short introduction to the theory of anelasticity precedes the main part of this review of anelastic effects in Fe–Ga and related alloys and unsolved issues are collected in summary.

The crystal chemistry of inderite, a hydrous borate with known ideal formula MgB 3 O 3 (OH) 5 ·5H 2 O from the Kramer deposit, was re-investigated by electron probe micro-analysis in wavelength dispersive mode, laser ablation-(multi collector-)inductively coupled plasma-mass spectrometry and single-crystal neutron diffraction. The chemical data prove that the real composition of the investigated inderite is substantially identical to the ideal one, with insignificant content of potential isomorphic substituents, so that, excluding B, inderite does not contain any other industrially-relevant element (e.g., Li concentration is lower than 2.5 wt ppm, Be or REE lower than 0.1 wt ppm). The average δ 11 B NIST951 value of ca. − 7 ‰ lies within the range of values in which the source of boron is ascribable to terrestrial reservoirs (e.g., hydrothermal brines), rather than to marine ones. Neutron structure refinements, at both 280 and 10 K, confirm that the building units of the structure of inderite consist of: two BO 2 (OH) 2 tetrahedra (B-ion in sp 3 electronic configuration) and one BO 2 (OH) triangle (B-ion in sp 2 electronic configuration), linked by corner-sharing to form a (soroborate) B 3 O 3 (OH) 5 ring, and a Mg-octahedron Mg(OH) 2 (OH 2 ) 4 . The B 3 O 3 (OH) 5 ring and the Mg-octahedron are connected, by corner-sharing, to form an isolated Mg(H 2 O) 4 B 3 O 3 (OH) 5 (molecular) cluster. The tri-dimensional edifice of inderite is therefore built by heteropolyhedral Mg(H 2 O) 4 B 3 O 3 (OH) 5 clusters mutually connected by H-bonds, mediated by the zeolitic (“interstitial”) H 2 O molecules lying between the clusters, so that the correct form of the chemical formula of inderite is Mg[B 3 O 3 (OH) 5 ](H 2 O) 4 ·H 2 O, rather than MgB 3 O 3 (OH) 5 ·5H 2 O. All the thirteen independent oxygen sites of the structure are involved in H-bonding, as donors or as acceptors. This confirms the pervasive nature and the important role played by the H-bonding network on the structural stability of inderite. The differences between the crystal structure of the two dimorphs inderite and kurnakovite are discussed.