Small-Angle X-ray Scattering (SAXS) is a powerful technique for probing nanoscale structure and morphology in materials with long-range order on the nanometer scale (1–100 nm) but which may not be crystalline, including polymers, proteins, biomaterials. Conventional X-ray diffraction (XRD) can struggle with these materials due to their amorphous nature or large feature sizes. This seminar will provide a brief overview of SAXS theory, followed by a practical discussion of the SAXS capabilities available on ARC’s new XRDynamic 500. Anton Paar’s applications scientist Dr. Semih Gulac will outline the types of samples and experiments that can be performed, the structural information that can be obtained, and the practical limitations of the system. While the XRDynamic 500 is not a dedicated high-resolution SAXS instrument, it offers valuable screening capabilities for assessing nanoscale features (<100 nm) and guiding decisions about more advanced measurements (e.g., high-resolution or specialized in situ studies). Preliminary test data collected on selected research samples will be presented to illustrate expected data quality.

Register here: https://www.research.colostate.edu/arc/arc-home/arc-seminars-workshops/