Durham University's Core Equipment Award 2022

粉末X射线衍射仪是了解固体材料结构、性能和功能的最有力的手段。一束X射线被引导到样品中，出现的图案可以在空间和能量上进行检测和分析，并用于确定样品的许多性质。在化学上，宏观晶体是分析新合成的或具有新的物理性质(例如与能源和环境相关的功能材料，如电池材料、燃料电池材料、发光荧光粉和储氧材料)的主要方法；它需要了解环境可持续化学过程和排放控制所需的非均相催化剂(沸石、氧化物、纳米颗粒)的结构；它对于理解和控制药物的固体形式至关重要。在凝聚态物理中，PX射线有助于揭开可能伴随着超导、磁性和天米子形成等重要性质变化的关键原子重排。在材料科学和工程中，需要对石墨烯及其衍生物和太阳能电池材料等样品进行表征。在地球科学中，它是识别和量化矿物和粘土含量以及它们在不同环境条件下如何演化的主要工具，是建造环境等领域的重要考虑因素。在EPSRC的直接范围之外，尽管EPSRC和BBSRC都支持多学科研究，但在生物科学中，即使是蛋白质结构也可以通过粉末衍射来解决。这项技术在文化遗产中越来越重要，达勒姆最近对古代手稿颜料和考古陶瓷的来源和生产过程的研究重点就是例证，其中仪器已经在EPSRC的资助下开发出来，用于特定的应用。

Powder X-ray Diffraction (PXRD) is the most powerful technique for understanding the structure, properties and function of solid-state materials. A beam of X-rays is directed into the sample and the emerging pattern can be detected and analysed both spatially and by energy and used to determine many properties of the sample. Crucially a macroscopic crystal is not required which is needed in many other X-ray based techniques.In chemistry it is the primary method for analysing newly-synthesised or controlled-morphology compounds with novel physical properties (e.g. functional materials for energy- and environment-related application, such as battery materials, fuel cell materials, lighting phosphors and oxygen storage materials); it's required to understand the structures of heterogeneous catalysts (zeolites, oxides, nanoparticles) needed for environmentally sustainable chemical processes and emissions control; and it is crucial for understanding and controlling the solid form of pharmaceuticals. In condensed matter physics, PXRD helps unravel the crucial atomic rearrangements that might accompany important property changes such as superconductivity, magnetism and skyrmion formation. In materials science and engineering it's needed to characterise samples such as graphene and its derivatives and solar cell materials. In earth sciences it is the principal tool for phase identification and quantification of minerals and clay content and how they evolve under different environmental conditions and is an important consideration in areas such as the built environment. Outside the direct EPSRC remit, though linked through multidisciplinary research that is supported by both EPSRC and BBSRC, in biosciences, even protein structures have been solved by powder diffraction. The technique is of increasing importance in cultural heritage, as exemplified by recent Durham research highlights on ancient manuscript pigments and the provenance and production processes of archaeological ceramics where instrumentation has been developed with EPSRC funding for specific applications.