A dynamical calo-porosimeter to characterize wetting and drying processes in lyophobic nanometric pores.

Lyophobic heterogeneous systems, based on porous fluids made of ordered nanoporous particles immersed in a non-wetting liquid, constitute systems of interest for exploring wetting, drying, and coupled transport phenomena in nanometric confinement. To date, most experimental studies on the forced filling and spontaneous emptying of lyophobic nanometric pores, at pressures of several tens of MPa, have been conducted in a quasi-static regime. However, some studies have shown that dynamical measurements are essential to shed light on the rich physics of these phenomena.

Multiscale study of the chiral self-assembly of cellulose nanocrystals during the frontal ultrafiltration process.

The structural organization of cellulose nanocrystal (CNC) suspensions at the membrane surface during frontal ultrafiltration has been characterized, for the first time, at the nano- and microscale by small-angle X-ray and light scattering (SAXS and SALS, respectively). During filtration, the particles assembled at the membrane surface and formed the so-called concentration polarization layer (CPL), which contains CNCs arranged in a chiral nematic (cholesteric) helicoidal structure, with the long axis of the CNCs oriented parallel to the membrane surface, and the helical axis of the cholesteric structure oriented perpendicular to the membrane surface. The self-organization of CNCs in the form of oriented cholesteric structures was further characterized by a pitch gradient in the CPL.

Multiscale analysis of triglycerides using X-ray scattering: implementing a shape-dependent model for CNP characterization.

In the last decade, research has focused on examining the fundamental interactions occurring in triglycerides, aiming to comprehend the self-assembly of crystalline nanoplatelets (CNPs) and their role in forming larger hierarchical structures essential for fat functionality. Microscopy research on CNPs frequently requires disruptive preparatory techniques, such as deoiling and sonication, to achieve quantitative outcomes. Conversely, X-ray scattering has proven to be an advantageous method for studying triglycerides, as little sample is needed to quantify the system's hierarchical structures.

A correction procedure for secondary scattering contributions from windows in small-angle X-ray scattering and ultra-small-angle X-ray scattering.

This article describes a correction procedure for the removal of indirect background contributions to measured small-angle X-ray scattering patterns. The high scattering power of a sample in the ultra-small-angle region may serve as a secondary source for a window placed in front of the detector. The resulting secondary scattering appears as a sample-dependent background in the measured pattern that cannot be directly subtracted.

Improvement of ultra-small-angle XPCS with the Extremely Brilliant Source.

Recent technical developments and the performance of the X-ray photon correlation spectroscopy (XPCS) method over the ultra-small-angle range with the Extremely Brilliant Source (EBS) at the ESRF are described. With higher monochromatic coherent photon flux (∼10 photons s) provided by the EBS and the availability of a fast pixel array detector (EIGER 500K detector operating at 23000 frames s), XPCS has become more competitive for probing faster dynamics in relatively dilute suspensions. One of the goals of the present development is to increase the user-friendliness of the method.

Self-supported MOF/cellulose-nanocrystals materials designed from ultrafiltration.

Metal-organic-frameworks (MOFs) are promising materials for addressing critical issues such as petrochemical separation, water purification, energy storage and drug delivery. Their large-scale deployment, however, is hampered by a limited processability due to their powdery nature. Recently, the hybridization of MOFs with biopolymers has emerged as a greener, biocompatible strategy to shape MOFs composites into more processable membranes, films, and porous materials.

Small-angle X-ray scattering in the era of fourth-generation light sources.

Recently, fourth-generation synchrotron sources with several orders of magnitude higher brightness and higher degree of coherence compared with third-generation sources have come into operation. These new X-ray sources offer exciting opportunities for the investigation of soft matter and biological specimens by small-angle X-ray scattering (SAXS) and related scattering methods. The improved beam properties together with the advanced pixel array detectors readily enhance the angular resolution of SAXS and ultra-small-angle X-ray scattering in the pinhole collimation.

: a GUI Python software for spatial-distortion correction of 2D detectors using splines.

CCD-based X-ray detector systems often suffer from spatial distortions. Reproducible distortions can be quantitatively measured with a calibration grid and described as a displacement matrix or as spline functions. The measured distortion can be used afterwards to undistort raw images or to refine the actual position of each pixel, for azimuthal integration.