University of Southampton - Equipment Account

X射线衍射是科学家和工程师研究晶体材料结构的主要技术，但由于需要专门的仪器和专业知识，一些样品类型经常被忽略。这项建议提供了先进的设备，将衍射和相关方法应用于一系列研究较少的样品类型，这些样品类型在技术和理解环境过程中具有重要意义。这些包括表面上的薄层材料，在那里可以获得关于原子分离、颗粒大小、晶体取向以及由于与底层材料相互作用而引起的晶格尺寸变化的信息。这对于理解一系列功能材料在能量转换和存储、电子学、光电子学和工程中的应用至关重要。还可以研究材料的非常小的区域，这在检查单个组分或样品的区域时很重要，因为在这些区域中，变化对了解性能很重要。样品类型包括矿物，其中单个颗粒的结构将有助于了解与环境的相互作用，以及为与光有特定相互作用而设计的材料网格的单一成分。

X-ray diffraction is the main technique by which scientists and engineers study the structures of crystalline materials, however some sample types are often neglected due to the requirement for specialised instrumentation and expertise. This proposal provides advanced equipment to apply diffraction and related methods to a series of lesser-studied sample types of great importance in technology and in understanding environmental processes. These include thin layers of material on surfaces, where information about atomic separations, particle sizes, crystal orientation and changes in the size of the lattice due to interactions with the underlying material can be obtained. This will be critical to the understanding of a range of functional materials with applications in energy conversion and storage, electronics, optoelectronics and engineering. It will also be possible to study very small regions of a material, this is important in examination of single components or regions of a sample where variations are important in understanding properties. Sample types include minerals, where the structure of individual grains will contribute to knowledge of interactions with the environment, and single components of grids of material designed to have specific interactions with light.