Welcome

Thanks again to everyone who came by our booths at the fifteen conferences we attended this month. In June, we invite you to visit the various Rigaku divisions attending a variety of events scattered around the globe. There is a link to a complete list of upcoming conferences below.

This month's issue contains a Rigaku Journal article describing the capabilities of our unique computed tomography X-ray microscope (XRM), the Rigaku nano3DX. For XRD users, we offer an application note describing crystallite-size and size-distribution studies using a direct convolution technique.

Gulpha Gorge near downtown Hot Springs, Arkansas. Photos by Paul Swepston.

Application papers are also included for TXRF, WDXRF and EDXRF techniques, with the TXRF AppNote highlighting the new NANOHUNTER II with its unique variable angle GI-XRF capability. The book review this month concerns The Greatest Story Ever Told – So Far: Why Are We Here?
by Lawrence M. Krauss. This month's video is for XRD users and provides an introduction to the Materials Analysis Using Diffraction (MAUD) software. Check out the news and papers sections at the bottom of the page for the latest developments in materials science.

Enjoy the newsletter.

R.C. Tisdale, Ph.D. – Editor

Featured Rigaku Journal Article In situ microscopic structural investigations with a three-dimensional X-ray microscope: nano3DX By Kazuhiko Omote, Yoshihiro Takeda, Raita Hirose and Joseph D. Ferrara It is well known that X-rays can penetrate opaque objects and show the internal structure without destroying the object. Thus, X-rays are widely used for medical imaging, security and industrial inspection to name a few examples. In addition, X-ray computed tomography (CT) is a powerful technique for visualizing internal structure of various specimens including the human body, in three dimensions (3D). Recently, a high spatial resolution X-ray microscope has been developed as a result of improvements in microfocus X-ray sources and high resolution X-ray detectors, making it possible to determine the precise internal 3D structure at micrometer resolution. Rigaku has developed a unique 3D X-ray microscope, the nano3DX, by the application of the quasi-parallel beam technique with a rotating anode high-power X-ray source and submicron-resolution X-ray detector. Full article >

Application of Integrated X-ray Powder Diffraction Software: PDXL Crystallite-size and size-distribution studies using a direct convolution technique Crystallite size and its distribution are important information to investigate physical properties of materials. Precise determination of these values requires that the effect from instrument and strain should be separated. For this reason, it is suitable to use the whole powder pattern data which can evaluate the 2θ dependence of the peak shape. To eliminate the instrumental aberrations, we apply a convolution method between instrumental and physical profiles. For more >

TXRF Application Note Benchtop TXRF spectrometer NANOHUNTER II Unique Variable Angle GI-XRF Capability Rigaku Corporation An incident X-ray beam impinges upon the sample at a shallow angle resulting in virtually complete reflection of the excitation beam away from the silicon drift detector. This affords dramatically reduced background contributions in the measured energy dispersive X-ray fluorescence spectra. Furthermore, it is possible to obtain information depending on measuring depth with GI-XRF capability. For more >

WDXRF Application Note Silicate Rock Analysis by Fusion Method on ZSX Primus III+ Rigaku Corporation Major and trace component profiles in igneous rocks provide much information about rock history such as eruption or solidification, magma evolution, magma genesis and source materials as well as petrographical classification. In modern petrology, accurate determination of major and trace elements in silicate rocks is essential. Elemental analysis of rocks requires high precision, sensitivity and high throughput. X-ray fluorescence spectrometry is suitable for such requirements in silicate rock analysis. For the determination of major elements in silicate rocks, XRF analysis is currently a standard analytical method as well as the traditional wet chemical technique. For more >

EDXRF Application Note Ni:Fe Metallurgy Applied Rigaku Technologies In the metallurgical production of metals and alloys it is important to ensure proper balance of the major alloy metals, and it is critical to ensure certain harmful tramp elements are at sufficiently low concentration or not present. Applied Rigaku Technologies EDXRF systems offer a simple and non-destructive means of quickly testing ingots and sample slugs to ensure these properties are optimized. For more >

Book Review The Greatest Story Ever Told – So Far: Why Are We Here? By Lawrence M. Krauss I first learned of Professor Krauss when he published The Physics of Star Trek in 1996. I have read most of the books he has published since then. When Krauss was interviewed on Science Friday in March, I immediately pre-ordered my copy of this title. Full review >

Material Analysis in the News News for May 2017 May 2, 2017. A team of Penn State researchers in the Department of Physics and the Center for Two-Dimensional and Layered Materials (2DLM) has developed a fast, nondestructive optical method for analyzing defects in 2D materials. May 2, 2017. Scientists have produced novel electrolytes for rechargeable sodium and magnesium batteries. The research group's objective was to develop alternatives to lithium-ion technology. May 3, 2017. Caloric materials are a class of materials that demonstrate interesting thermodynamic behavior: when they are exposed to an external field they exchange heat with the environment. These materials show great promise for use in next-generation cooling devices. May 5, 2017. Scientists have discovered a new nano-scale thin film material with the highest-ever conductivity in its class. The new material could lead to smaller, faster, and more powerful electronics, as well as more efficient solar cells. May 9, 2017. Rice University chemist Gustavo Scuseria won the 2017 Royal Society of Chemistry S F Boys – A Rahman Award. This biennial award from the London-based international organization for chemical scientists recognizes outstanding innovative research in the area of computational chemistry, including both quantum chemistry and molecular simulations. May 9, 2017. Berkeley Lab researchers used structural characterization — both X-ray crystallography and small angle X-ray scattering (SAXS) — to show that many of the designs adopted the target oligomerization state and predicted structure. May 9, 2017. Researchers at MIT have come up with a radically new way to make actuators that could be used in such extremely hot environments. The system relies on oxide materials similar to those used in many of today's rechargeable batteries, in that ions move in and out of the material during charging and discharging cycles. May 10, 2017. Scientists have created the first-ever polarization gradient in thin-film ferroelectrics, greatly expanding the range of functional temperatures for a key material used in a variety of everyday applications. May 12, 2017. Researchers have mapped out a radically new approach for designing optical and electronic properties of materials. Collective electrostatic effects are used to intentionally manipulate material properties. May 16, 2017. Silicon devices are prone to faltering and failing in difficult environments. Addressing these challenges, Jiangwei Liu, from Japan's National Institute for Materials Sciences, and his colleagues describe new work developing diamond-based transistors. May 18, 2017. Chemists, materials scientists and nanoengineers at UC San Diego have created what may be the ultimate natural sunscreen. They report the development of nanoparticles that mimic the behavior of natural melanosomes, melanin-producing cell structures that protect our skin, eyes and other tissues from the harmful effects of ultraviolet radiation. May 19, 2017. Researchers at the Okinawa Institute of Science and Technology Graduate University (OIST) have created self-assembling molecules that can be broken down by ultraviolet light to recombine into novel macroscopic shapes.

Recent Scientific Papers of Interest Papers for May 2017 Recent Scientific Papers of Interest is a monthly compilation of material analysis papers appearing in recently released journals and publications. See below

Unified Theory for Decoding the Signals from X-Ray Fluorescence and X-Ray Diffraction of Mixtures. Chung, Frank H. Applied Spectroscopy. May2017, Vol. 71 Issue 5, p1060-1068. 9p. DOI: 10.1177/0003702816664105.

Persistence of Mixed and Non-intermediate Valence in the High-Pressure Structure of Silver(I,III) Oxide, AgO: A Combined Raman, X-ray Diffraction (XRD), and Density Functional Theory (DFT) Study. Grzelak, Adam; Gawraczynski, Jakub; Jaron, Tomasz; Somayazulu, Maddury; Derzsi, Mariana; Struzhkin, Viktor; Grochala, Wojciech. Inorganic Chemistry. 5/15/2017, Vol. 56 Issue 10, p5804-5812. 9p. DOI: 10.1021/acs.inorgchem.7b00405.

Assessment of Ca and P content variation in enamel during an eight-week bleaching protocol using energy dispersive X-ray fluorescence. Sorozini, M.; Dos Santos, R.S.; Silva, E.M.; Dos Anjos, M.J.; Perez, C.R. Spectrochimica Acta Part B. May2017, Vol. 131, p93-98. 6p. DOI: 10.1016/j.sab.2017.03.010.

Monte Carlo Simulation for Polychromatic X-Ray Fluorescence Computed Tomography with Sheet-Beam Geometry. Jiang, Shanghai; He, Peng; Deng, Luzhen; Chen, Mianyi; Wei, Biao. International Journal of Biomedical Imaging. 5/8/2017, p1-10. 10p. DOI: 10.1155/2017/7916260.

Identification of elemental composition of PM_2.5 collected in Makkah, Saudi Arabia, using EDXRF. Shaltout, Abdallah A.; Boman, Johan; Alsulimane, Mohammad E. XRS: X-ray Spectrometry. May/Jun2017, Vol. 46 Issue 3, p151-163. 13p. DOI: 10.1002/xrs.2732.

A New Look at the Structural and Magnetic Properties of Potassium Neptunate K₂NpO₄ Combining XRD, XANES Spectroscopy, and Low-Temperature Heat Capacity. Smith, Anna L.; Colineau, Eric; Jean-Christophe Griveau; Karin Popa; Kauric, Guilhem; Martin, Philippe; Scheinost, Andreas C.; Cheetham, Anthony K.; Konings, Rudy J. M. Inorganic Chemistry. 5/15/2017, Vol. 56 Issue 10, p5839-5850. 12p. DOI: 10.1021/acs.inorgchem.7b00462.

In Situ XRD Study on Promotional Effect of Potassium on Carburization of Spray-dried Precipitated Fe₂O₃ Catalysts. Niu, Liwei; Liu, Xingwu; Liu, Xi; Lv, Zhengang; Zhang, Chenghua; Wen, Xiaodong; Yang, Yong; Li, Yongwang; Xu, Jian. ChemCatChem. 5/10/2017, Vol. 9 Issue 9, p1691-1700. 10p. DOI: 10.1002/cctc.201601665.

Mössbauer and XRD characterization of the effect of heat treatment and the tribological test on the physical and mechanical properties of a Fe-Mn-Al-C alloy. Ramos, J.; Piamba, J.; Sanchez, H.; Pérez Alcazar, G. Hyperfine Interactions. 5/4/2017, Vol. 238 Issue 1, p1-8. 8p. DOI: 10.1007/s10751-017-1425-7.

TG/DTA and XRD study on structure and chemical transformation of the Cs–P–W oxides. Zhang, Guoliang; Wu, Hui; Peng, Zhijian; Li, Chunshan. Journal of Thermal Analysis & Calorimetry. May2017, Vol. 128 Issue 2, p947-956. 10p. DOI: 10.1007/s10973-016-5990-9.

Permeation and in situ XRD studies on PdCuAu membranes under H₂. Jia, Haiyuan; Goldbach, Andreas; Zhao, Chenyang; Castro, German R.; Sun, Chenglin; Xu, Hengyong. Journal of Membrane Science. May2017, Vol. 529, p142-149. 8p. DOI: 10.1016/j.memsci.2017.01.062.

X-Ray Fluorescence Analysis and Self-Organizing Maps Classification of the Etruscan Gold Coin Collection at the Monetiere of Florence. Arias, Claudio; Bani, Stefano; Catalli, Fiorenzo; Lorenzetti, Giulia; Grifoni, Emanuela; Legnaioli, Stefano; Pagnotta, Stefano; Palleschi, Vincenzo. Applied Spectroscopy. May2017, Vol. 71 Issue 5, p817-822. 6p. DOI: 10.1177/0003702816641421.

Simplex Volume Maximization (SiVM): A matrix factorization algorithm with non-negative constrains and low computing demands for the interpretation of full spectral X-ray fluorescence imaging data. Alfeld, Matthias; Wahabzada, Mirwaes; Bauckhage, Christian; Kersting, Kristian; van der Snickt, Geert; Noble, Petria; Janssens, Koen; Wellenreuther, Gerd; Falkenberg, Gerald. Microchemical Journal. May2017, Vol. 132, p179-184. 6p. DOI: 10.1016/j.microc.2017.02.001.

X-ray fluorescence determination of Cs, Ba, La, Ce, Nd, and Ta concentrations in rocks of various composition. Suvorova, Darya; Khudonogova, Elena; Revenko, Anatoly. XRS: X-ray Spectrometry. May/Jun2017, Vol. 46 Issue 3, p200-208. 9p. DOI: 10.1002/xrs.2747.

A comparative study on the total reflection X-ray fluorescence determination of low Z elements using X-ray tube and synchrotron radiation as excitation sources. Sanyal, K.; Kanrar, B.; Misra, N. L.; Czyzycki, M.; Migliori, A.; Karydas, A. G. XRS: X-ray Spectrometry. May/Jun2017, Vol. 46 Issue 3, p164-170. 7p. DOI: 10.1002/xrs.2733.

Seasonal determination of trace and ultra-trace content in Macrocystis pyrifera from San Jorge Gulf (Patagonia) by Total Reflection X-ray Fluorescence. Salomone, Vanesa N.; Riera, Marina; Cerchietti, Luciana; Custo, Graciela; Muniain, Claudia. Spectrochimica Acta Part B. May2017, Vol. 131, p74-78. 5p. DOI: 10.1016/j.sab.2017.03.009.

Operando X-ray diffraction during battery cycling at elevated temperatures: A quantitative analysis of lithium-graphite intercalation compounds. Cañas, Natalia Andrea; Einsiedel, Philipp; Freitag, Oliver Thomas; Heim, Christopher; Steinhauer, Miriam; Park, Dong-Won; Friedrich, Kaspar Andreas. Carbon. May2017, Vol. 116, p255-263. 9p. DOI: 10.1016/j.carbon.2017.02.002.

In situ analysis of the crystallization process of Sb₂S₃ thin films by Raman scattering and X-ray diffraction. Parize, Romain; Cossuet, Thomas; Chaix-Pluchery, Odette; Roussel, Hervé; Appert, Estelle; Consonni, Vincent. Materials & Design. May2017, Vol. 121, p1-10. 10p. DOI: 10.1016/j.matdes.2017.02.034.

Thermal expansion coefficient of carbon-supported Pt nanoparticles: In-situ X-ray diffraction study. Leontyev, I. N.; Kulbakov, A. A.; Allix, M.; Rakhmatullin, A.; Kuriganova, A. B.; Maslova, O. A.; Smirnova, N. V. Physica Status Solidi (B). May2017, Vol. 254 Issue 5, pn/a-n/a. 4p. DOI: 10.1002/pssb.201600695.

Monitoring instability of linear amine impregnated UiO-66 by in-situ temperature resolved powder X-ray diffraction. Song, Youngdong; Thirion, Damien; Subramanian, Saravanan; Lah, Myoung Soo; Yavuz, Cafer T. Microporous & Mesoporous Materials. May2017, Vol. 243, p85-90. 6p. DOI: 10.1016/j.micromeso.2017.02.021.

Measurement of residual stress in arc welded lap joints by cosa X-ray diffraction method. Lin, Jian; Ma, Ninshu; Lei, Yongping; Murakawa, Hidekazu. Journal of Materials Processing Technology. May2017, Vol. 243, p387-394. 8p. DOI: 10.1016/j.jmatprotec.2016.12.021.

Effect of draw ratio on fiber structure development of polyethylene terephthalate. Tomisawa, R.; Ikaga, T.; Kim, K.H.; Ohkoshi, Y.; Okada, K.; Masunaga, H.; Kanaya, T.; Masuda, M.; Maeda, Y. Polymer. May2017, Vol. 116, p357-366. 10p. DOI: 10.1016/j.polymer.2016.12.071.

Characterising precipitate evolution in multi-component cast aluminium alloys using small-angle X-ray scattering. Panagos, P.; Wang, Y.; McCartney, D.G.; Li, M.; Ghaffari, B.; Zindel, J.W.; Miao, J.; Makineni, S.; Allison, J.E.; Shebanova, O.; Robson, J.D.; Lee, Peter D. Journal of Alloys & Compounds. May2017, Vol. 703, p344-353. 10p. DOI: 10.1016/j.jallcom.2017.01.293.