Imaging crossing fibers in mouse, pig, monkey, and human brain using small-angle X-ray scattering

Myelinated axons (nerve fibers) efficiently transmit signals throughout the brain via action potentials. Multiple methods that are sensitive to axon orientations, from microscopy to magnetic resonance imaging, aim to reconstruct the brain's structural connectome. As billions of nerve fibers traverse the brain with various possible geometries...

Droplet-based assembly of magnetic superballs

The self-assembly of materials driven by the inherent directionality of the constituent particles is of both practical and fundamental interest because it enables the fabrication of complex and hierarchical structures with tailored functionalities. By employing evaporation assisted self-assembly, we form opal-like structures with micro-sized...

Pore anisotropy in shale and its dependence on thermal maturity and organic carbon content: A scanning SAXS study

Pore orientation in shale governs the fluid transport properties that are key to hydrocarbon production and potential CO₂ sequestration. The present work deals with the detailed study of nano-heterogeneities in shales, across the bedding plane, of varying thermal maturity and total organic carbon content using scanning small-angle...

Self-assembly of colloidal superballs under spherical confinement of a drying droplet

Understanding the relationship between colloidal building block shape and self-assembled material structure is important for the development of novel materials by self-assembly. In this regard, colloidal superballs are unique building blocks because their shape can smoothly transition between spherical and cubic. Assembly of colloidal...

Towards multi-functional SiO₂ @YAG: Ce core–shell optical nanoparticles for solid state lighting applications

This paper aims to investigate the synthesis, structure, and optical properties of SiO₂ @YAG:Ce core–shell optical nanoparticles for solid state lighting applications. YAG:Ce phosphor is a key part in white light emitting diodes (LEDs), with its main functionality being the generation of yellow light. Generated yellow light from...

Monitoring and quantifying morphological and structural changes in electrode materials under operando conditions

X-ray absorption and small-angle x-ray scattering spectra were simultaneously acquired under operando conditions in a joined technique approach, for the first time applied in the field of energy storage materials. This approach allows one to closely follow the electronic and local structure evolution, as well as monitor and quantify the...

Revealing the molecular origins of fibrin's elastomeric properties by in situ X-ray scattering

Fibrin is an elastomeric protein forming highly extensible fiber networks that provide the scaffold of blood clots. Here we reveal the molecular mechanisms that explain the large extensibility of fibrin networks by performing in situ small angle X-ray scattering measurements while applying a shear deformation. We simultaneously measure shear...

Multiple scattering in grazing-incidence X-ray diffraction: Impact on lattice-constant determination in thin films

Dynamical scattering effects are observed in grazing-incidence X-ray diffraction experiments using an organic thin film of 2,2′:6′,2′′-ternaphthalene grown on oxidized silicon as substrate. Here, a splitting of all Bragg peaks in the out-of-plane direction (z-direction) has been observed, the magnitude of which depends both on the incidence...