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Abstract: A novel High-Throughput Continuous Hydrothermal (HiTCH) flow synthesis reactor was used to make directly and rapidly a 66-sample nanoparticle library (entire phase diagram) of nanocrystalline Ce(x)Zr(y)Y(z)O(2-delta) in less than 12 h. High resolution PXRD data were obtained for the entire heat-treated library (at 1000 degrees C/I h) in less than a day using the new robotic beamline III, located at Diamond Light Source (DLS). This allowed Rietveld-quality powder X-ray diffraction (PXRD) data collection of the entire 66-sample library in <1 day. Consequently, the authors rapidly mapped Out phase behavior and sintering behaviors for the entire library. Out of the entire 66-sample heat-treated library, the PXRD data suggests that 43 possess the fluorite structure, of which 30 (out of 36) are tertiary compositions. The speed, quantity and quality of data obtained by our new approach, offers an exciting new development which will allow structure-property relationships to be accessed for nanoceramics in much shorter time periods.

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Abstract: Context. Silicate dust grains exist in a wide range of astronomical environments and understanding the effect of these on grain structure is of great interest, particularly the effect of thermal annealing on amorphous silicates as a possible route to the formation of crystalline grains. Although laboratory simulations have largely focussed on IR-spectroscopic measurements, since these relate directly to observational data, laboratory synchrotron techniques such as X-ray absorption spectroscopy (XAS) and X-ray scattering are becoming increasingly routine in the analysis of recovered materials. With the increasing prospect of performing astronomical XAS observations, there is much to be gained from applying these techniques to laboratory analogues. Aims. Diagnostic markers for medium-range order and the effect of thermal annealing on these in amorphous silicates of differing Mg content are characterised using synchrotron X-ray methods. Methods. Three synthetic amorphous silicates with high, medium and low Mg:Si ratios were annealed at varying temperatures up to 1300 K. X-ray Absorption Near Edge Structure (XANES) spectra at the Si and Mg K-shell absorption edges and X-ray scattering patterns for low values of the X-ray scattering wavevector were recorded for these along with comparative data for commercially produced amorphous SiO2 and mineral samples of forsterite, enstatite and quartz. Results. XANES features due to short- and medium-range structure are identified at both Mg and Si edges and a new temperature dependent behaviour observed in the medium-range structure surrounding Mg and Si. Based on changes to the morphological details of the XANES spectra, the medium-range structure changes between an enstatite-like and forsterite-like coordination with increasing temperature and appears to correlate directly with Mg content. Low wavevector X-ray scattering features were also found to be diagnostic of the type of medium-range structural ordering. However, these features depend on whether the relative arrangement of clusters of medium-range structure exhibit semi-periodic ordering over the longer-range, which can vary with annealing.

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Abstract: We present the design of a synchrotron x-ray beamline (BL-I11) dedicated to powder diffraction experiments, currently under construction at Diamond Light Source (DLS). An in-vaCLIurn Lindulator will provide an intense and highly collimated x-ray Source and with the necessary optics, a high purity beam of low energy-bandpass x-rays in the range 5-30 keV will be delivered at the sample. The diffraction instrument is designed to have the flexibility to house a variety of sample environments and to have two detection systems to collect high quality diffraction data, i.e. multi-analysing crystals for high angular resolution experiments and a fast position sensitive detector for tirne-resolved studies. BL-I11 will be a powerful state-of-the-art dedicated user facility for high resolution (d-space and time) powder diffraction studies of polycrystalline materials under ambient and non-ambient conditions.