Single and multi-pulse based X-ray photon correlation spectroscopy

Abstract

The ability of pulsed nature of synchrotron radiation opens up the possibility of studying microsecond dynamics in complex materials via speckle-based techniques. Here, we present the study of measuring the dynamics of a colloidal system by combining single and multiple X-ray pulses of a storage ring. In addition, we apply speckle correlation techniques at various pulse patterns to collect correlation functions from nanoseconds to milliseconds. The obtained sample dynamics from all correlation techniques at different pulse patterns are in very good agreement with the expected dynamics of Brownian motions of silica nanoparticles in water. Our study will pave the way for future pulsed X-ray investigations at various synchrotron X-ray sources using individual X-ray pulse patterns.

Robotic pendant drop: containerless liquid for μs-resolved, AI-executable XPCS

“…Despite lacking the direct imaging capacity, time-resolved x-ray scattering provides in situ and real-time information on the evolution of spatial ordering over hierarchical scales (10 −10 –10 −6 m) thanks to the use of hard x-ray beam and the recent development of high-speed pixel array detectors 10 – 12 . In addition, with the Free-Electron Laser and the “laser-like” coherent x-ray beam from synchrotron undulator sources 13 , X-ray photon correlation spectroscopy (XPCS), the expansion of dynamic light scattering (DLS) into x-ray wavelength, can directly probe the time scales of spontaneous fluctuation of spatial orderings via temporal decorrelation of scattered intensities. Enhanced by the sub-nm wavelength and strong penetration power of the hard x-ray beam, the wide range of spatiotemporal sensitivity of XPCS has led to unique insights in a myriad of material science systems, including collective motion of nanoparticles in a polymer matrix 14 , 15 , in-operando mesoscale mass flow during 3D printing 16 , and glass transition and gelation in dense colloids 17 .…”

Bayesian experimental design and parameter estimation for ultrafast spin dynamics

“…The direct derivative in an XPFS experimental measurement is the contrast function C(q, t), which can be extracted by analyzing photon statistics from the sum of the two intensities I(q, t) = I(q, τ ) + I(q, τ + t) of a pair of successive x-ray probe pulses arriving at t = τ and t = τ + t [17,[50][51][52].…”

In situ aggregation and early states of gelation of gold nanoparticle dispersions

“…31 XPCS is frequently used to study soft matter systems, e.g. , obtaining structural and dynamical information of diffusion and hydrodynamic interactions on microsecond timescales, 32–37 glasses and glass transitions, 38–45 and colloidal gelation. 43,46–53 Recently, we have used XPCS to study the gelation of colloidal gold particles grafted with polyethylene (PEG) based ligands and dispersed in a water–glycerol mixture.…”

“…4,10,30 To track these processes, X-ray photon correlation spectroscopy (XPCS) at modern X-ray light sources allows both the necessary spatial resolution covering nm length scales as well as time resolution of sub-ms to probe the dynamics of the particles in real time. 31 XPCS is frequently used to study soft matter systems, e.g., obtaining structural and dynamical information of diffusion and hydrodynamic interactions on microsecond timescales, [32][33][34][35][36][37] glasses and glass transitions, [38][39][40][41][42][43][44][45] and colloidal gelation. 43,[46][47][48][49][50][51][52][53] Recently, we have used XPCS to study the gelation of colloidal gold particles grafted with polyethylene (PEG) based ligands and dispersed in a water-glycerol mixture.…”