Probing Structural Transformations and Degradation Mechanisms by Direct Observation in SIFSIX-3-Ni for Direct Air Capture.

Despite global efforts to reduce carbon dioxide (CO2) emissions, continued industrialization threatens to exacerbate climate change. This work investigates methods to capture CO2, with a focus on the SIFSIX-3-Ni metal-organic framework (MOF) as a direct air capture (DAC) sorbent. SIFSIX-3-Ni exhibits promising CO2 adsorption properties but suffers from degradation processes under accelerated aging, which are akin to column regeneration conditions. Herein, we have grown the largest SIFSIX-3-Ni single crystals to date, facilitating single crystal X-ray diffraction analyses that enabled direct observation of the H2O and CO2 dynamics through adsorption and desorption. In addition, a novel space group (I4/mcm) for the SIFSIX-3-Ni is identified, which provided insights into structural transitions within the framework and elucidated water's role in degrading CO2 uptake performance as the material ages. In situ X-ray scattering methods revealed long-range and local structural transformations associated with CO2 adsorption in the framework pores as well as a temperature-dependent desorption mechanism. Pair distribution function analysis revealed a partial decomposition to form nonporous single-layer nanosheets of edge-sharing nickel oxide octahedra upon aging. The formation of these nanosheets is irreversible and reduces the amount of active material for the CO2 sorption. These findings provide crucial insights for the development of efficient and stable DAC sorbents, effectively reducing greenhouse gases, and suggest avenues for enhancing MOF stability under practical DAC conditions.

The lower energy diffraction and scattering side-bounce beamline for materials science at the Canadian Light Source.

A new diffraction beamline for materials science has been built at the Canadian Light Source synchrotron. The X-ray source is an in-vacuum wiggler with a 2.5 T peak magnetic field at 5.2 mm gap. The optical configuration includes a toroidal mirror, a single side-bounce Bragg monochromator, and a cylindrical mirror, producing a sub-150 µm vertical × 500 µm horizontal focused beam with a photon energy range of 7-22 keV and a flux of 1012 photons per second at the sample position. Three endstations are currently open to general users, and the techniques available include high-resolution powder diffraction, small molecule crystallography, X-ray reflectivity, in situ rapid thermal annealing, and SAXS/WAXS. The beamline design parameters, calculated and measured performance, and initial experimental results are presented to demonstrate the capabilities for materials science.

Implications of size dispersion on X-ray scattering of crystalline nanoparticles: CeO2 as a case study.

Controlling the shape and size dispersivity and crystallinity of nanoparticles (NPs) has been a challenge in identifying these parameters' role in the physical and chemical properties of NPs. The need for reliable quantitative tools for analyzing the dispersivity and crystallinity of NPs is a considerable problem in optimizing scalable synthesis routes capable of controlling NP properties. The most common tools are electron microscopy (EM) and X-ray scattering techniques. However, each technique has different susceptibility to these parameters, implying that more than one technique is necessary to characterize NP systems with maximum reliability. Wide-angle X-ray scattering (WAXS) is mandatory to access information on crystallinity. In contrast, EM or small-angle X-ray scattering (SAXS) is required to access information on whole NP sizes. EM provides average values on relatively small ensembles in contrast to the bulk values accessed by X-ray techniques. Besides the fact that the SAXS and WAXS techniques have different susceptibilities to size distributions, SAXS is easily affected by NP-NP interaction distances. Because of all the variables involved, there have yet to be proposed methodologies for cross-analyzing data from two techniques that can provide reliable quantitative results of dispersivity and crystallinity. In this work, a SAXS/WAXS-based methodology is proposed for simultaneously quantifying size distribution and degree of crystallinity of NPs. The most reliable easy-to-access size result for each technique is demonstrated by computer simulation. Strategies on how to compare these results and how to identify NP-NP interaction effects underneath the SAXS intensity curve are presented. Experimental results are shown for cubic-like CeO2 NPs. WAXS size results from two analytical procedures are compared, line-profile fitting of individual diffraction peaks in opposition to whole pattern fitting. The impact of shape dispersivity is also evaluated. Extension of the proposed methodology for cross-analyzing EM and WAXS data is possible.

An inclined detector geometry for improved X-ray total scattering measurements.

X-ray total scattering measurements are implemented using a digital flat-panel area detector in an inclined geometry and compared with the traditional geometry. The traditional geometry is defined here by the incident X-ray beam impinging on and normal to the center-most pixel of a detector. The inclined geometry is defined here by a detector at a pitch angle α, set to 15° in this case, bisected by the vertical scattering plane. The detector is positioned such that the incident X-ray beam strikes the pixels along the bottom edge and 90° scattered X-rays impinge on the pixels along the top edge. The geometric attributes of the inclined geometry translate into multiple benefits, such as an extension of the measurable scattering range to 90°, a 47% increase in the accessible magnitudes of the reciprocal-space vector Q and a leveling of the dynamic range in the measured total scattering pattern. As a result, a sixfold improvement in signal-to-noise ratios is observed at higher scattering angles, enabling up to a 36-fold reduction in acquisition time. Additionally, the extent of applied modification functions is reduced, decreasing the magnitude of termination ripples and improving the real-space resolution of the pair distribution function G(r). Taken all together, these factors indicate that the inclined geometry produces higher quality data than the traditional geometry, usable for simultaneous Rietveld refinement and total scattering studies.

Mechanical Exfoliation of Expanded Graphite to Graphene-Based Materials and Modification with Palladium Nanoparticles for Hydrogen Storage.

Hydrogen is a promising green fuel carrier that can replace fossil fuels; however, its storage is still a challenge. Carbon-based materials with metal catalysts have recently been the focus of research for solid-state hydrogen storage due to their efficacy and low cost. Here, we report on the exfoliation of expanded graphite (EG) through high shear mixing and probe tip sonication methods to form graphene-based nanomaterial ShEG and sEG, respectively. The exfoliation processes were optimized based on electrochemical capacitance measurements. The exfoliated EG was further functionalized with palladium nanoparticles (Pd-NP) for solid-state hydrogen storage. The prepared graphene-based nanomaterials (ShEG and sEG) and the nanocomposites (Pd-ShEG and Pd-sEG) were characterized with various traditional techniques (e.g., SEM, TEM, EDX, XPS, Raman, XRD) and the advanced high-resolution pair distribution function (HRPDF) analysis. Electrochemical hydrogen uptake and release (QH) were measured, showing that the sEG decorated with Pd-NP (Pd-sEG, 31.05 mC cm-2) and ShEG with Pd-NP (Pd-ShEG, 24.54 mC cm-2) had a notable improvement over Pd-NP (9.87 mC cm-2) and the composite of Pd-EG (14.7 mC cm-2). QH showed a strong linear relationship with an effective surface area to volume ratio, indicating nanoparticle size as a determining factor for hydrogen uptake and release. This work is a promising step toward the design of the high-performance solid-state hydrogen storage devices through mechanical exfoliation of the substrate EG to control nanoparticle size and dispersion.

Introduction to Python Dynamic Diffraction Toolkit (PyDDT): structural refinement of single crystals via X-ray phase measurements.

PyDDT is a free Python package of computer codes for exploiting X-ray dynamic multiple diffraction in single crystals. A wide range of tools are available for evaluating the usefulness of the method, planning feasible experiments, extracting phase information from experimental data and further improving model structures of known materials. Graphical tools are also useful in analytical methodologies related to the three-dimensional aspect of multiple diffraction. For general X-ray users, the PyDDT tutorials provide the insight needed to understand the principles of phase measurements and other related methodologies. Key points behind structure refinement using the current approach are presented, and the main features of PyDDT are illustrated for amino acid and filled skutterudite single crystals.

A simple formula for determining nanoparticle size distribution by combining small-angle X-ray scattering and diffraction results.

X-ray scattering and diffraction phenomena are widely used as analytical tools in nanoscience. Size discrepancies between the two phenomena are commonly observed in crystalline nanoparticle systems. The root of the problem is that each phenomenon is affected by size distribution differently, causing contrasting shifts between the two methods. Once understood, the previously discrepant results lead to a simple formula for obtaining the nanoparticle size distribution.

Photoinduced magnetism in core/shell Prussian blue analogue heterostructures of K(j)Ni(k)[Cr(CN)6]l·nH2O with Rb(a)Co(b)[Fe(CN)6]c·mH2O.

Core/shell and core/shell/shell particles comprised of the Prussian blue analogues K(j)Ni(k)[Cr(CN)(6)](l)·nH(2)O (A) and Rb(a)Co(b)[Fe(CN)(6)](c)·mH(2)O (B) have been prepared for the purpose of studying persistent photoinduced magnetization in the heterostructures. Synthetic procedures have been refined to allow controlled growth of relatively thick (50-100 nm) consecutive layers of the Prussian blue analogues while minimizing the mixing of materials at the interfaces. Through changes in the order in which the two components are added, particles with AB, ABA, BA, and BAB sequences have been prepared. The two Prussian blue analogues were chosen because B is photoswitchable, and A is ferromagnetic with a relatively high magnetic ordering temperature, ~70 K, although it is not known to exhibit photoinduced changes in its magnetic properties. Magnetization measurements on the heterostructured particles performed prior to irradiation show behavior characteristic of the individual components. On the other hand, after irradiation with visible light, the heterostructures undergo persistent photoinduced changes in magnetization associated with both the B and A analogues. The results suggest that structural changes in the photoactive B component distort the normally photoinactive A component, leading to a change in its magnetization.

Reversible crystal-to-crystal chiral resolution: making/breaking non-bonding SO interactions.

An achiral organic molecule adopts a chiral conformation, crystallizing in two morphologies: a racemic form, stable <70 °C, and a homochiral form, stable ≥70 °C. Upon seeding, crystal-to-crystal phase transitions occur reversibly between the racemic and chiral forms. Liquid-to-solid chiral crystallization is observed >90% of the time from the melt.

Structural and morphological characterization of hemozoin produced by Schistosoma mansoni and Rhodnius prolixus.

Hemozoin (Hz) is a heme crystal produced upon the digestion of hemoglobin (Hb) by blood-feeding organisms as a main mechanism of heme disposal. The structure of Hz consists of heme dimers bound by reciprocal iron-carboxylate interactions and stabilized by hydrogen bonds. We have recently described heme crystals in the blood fluke, Schistosoma mansoni, and in the kissing bug, Rhodnius prolixus. Here, we characterized the structures and morphologies of the heme crystals from those two organisms and compared them to synthetic beta-hematin (betaH). Synchrotron radiation X-ray powder diffraction showed that all heme crystals share the same unit cell and structure. The heme crystals isolated from S. mansoni and R. prolixus consisted of very regular units assembled in multicrystalline spherical structures exhibiting remarkably distinct surface morphologies compared to betaH. In both organisms, Hz formation occurs inside lipid droplet-like particles or in close association to phospholipid membranes. These results show, for the first time, the structural and morphological characterization of natural Hz samples obtained from these two blood-feeding organisms. Moreover, Hz formation occurring in close association to a hydrophobic environment seems to be a common trend for these organisms and may be crucial to produce very regular shaped phases, allowing the formation of multicrystalline assemblies in the guts of S. mansoni and R. prolixus.

X-ray powder diffraction beamline at D10B of LNLS: application to the Ba2FeReO6 double perovskite.

A new beamline, fully dedicated to X-ray powder diffraction (XPD) measurements, has been installed after the exit port B of the bending magnet D10 at the Brazilian Synchrotron Light Laboratory (LNLS) and commissioned. The technical characteristics of the beamline are described and some performance indicators are listed, such as the incoming photon flux and the angular/energy resolutions obtainable under typical experimental conditions. The results of a Rietveld refinement for a standard sample of Y2O3 using high-resolution data are shown. The refined parameters match those found in the literature, within experimental error. High-resolution XPD measurements on Ba2FeReO6 demonstrate a slight departure from the ideal cubic double-perovskite structure at low temperatures, not detected by previous powder diffraction experiments. The onset of the structural transition coincides with the ferrimagnetic ordering temperature, Tc approximately equal to 315 K. Subtle structural features, such as those reported here for Ba2FeReO6, as well as the determination and/or refinement of complex crystal structures in polycrystalline samples are ideal candidate problems to be investigated on this beamline.

Enhanced x-ray phase determination by three-beam diffraction.

For decades, solving the phase problem of x-ray scattering has been a goal that, in principle, could be achieved by means of n-beam diffraction (n-BD). However, the phases extracted by the actual n-BD phasing techniques are not very precise, mainly due to systematic errors that are difficult to estimate. We present an innovative theoretical approach and experimental procedure that, combined, eliminate two major sources of error. It is a high precision phasing technique that provides the triplet-phase angle with an error of about 2 degrees.