ScatterX78 for nanomaterials analysis - a new SAXS/WAXS attachment to Empyrean

On the 15th International Small-Angle Scattering Conference (SAS-2012) that took place in Sydney (Australia) during Nov. 18-23 2012, PANalytical launched ScatterX78, the latest add-on to its Empyrean multi-purpose XRD platform.

ScatterX78 is a compact and ergonomic SAXS/WAXS attachment based on patented technology. It consists of a chamber that houses advanced modules for the conditioning of the X-ray beam and a variety of sample holders. The whole chamber is evacuated and thus allows for quick and sensitive small-angle X-ray scattering (SAXS) measurements even on weakly scattering and highly dilute samples. With ScatterX78 these measurements can be extended to scattering angles up to 78 degrees. The wide-angle X-ray scattering (WAXS) signal provides valuable complementary information about the atomic order in a material.

Together with PANalytical’s PIXcel area detectors, ScatterX78 also allows performing 2D SAXS measurements, which is important for the analysis of anisotropic samples. SAXS is a versatile technique that is used for the quantification of nanoscale dimensions and for the analysis of nanostructures. It is applicable to virtually all types of nanomaterials, such as liquid nanoparticle dispersions, nanopowders, nanocomposites and mesoporous materials. The method is also increasingly used for the structure analysis of biomacromolecules (BioSAXS).

Advanced SAXS measurements normally require dedicated and often large instrumentation that tend to be very expensive and difficult to use. Thus the technique has for a long time been only accessible to experts in the field. With the ScatterX78, being a particularly easy-to-use, alignment-free add-on to a widely used multi-purpose XRD platform, the technique now becomes available as an advanced, yet cost-effective research tool for nanomaterial research laboratories.