A strategy of consistent X-ray and neutron double-difference pair distribution function analysis of nanoparticle dispersions

Colloid & Polymer Science, vol. 303, pp. 1843–1852

Abstract

It has been demonstrated that the X-ray pair distribution function (PDF) formalism allows for the identification of very small signal contributions in multi-component systems by the difference and double-difference PDF (dd-PDF) approach. Due to their stronger interaction with light elements compared to X-rays, neutrons are often beneficial or complementary for the characterization of modern materials. Here, it is demonstrated that the dd-PDF strategy previously developed for X-ray PDF data can successfully be applied to neutron PDF data despite much lower count rates compared to X-rays. The dd-PDF strategy was employed for the investigation of aqueous iron oxide nanoparticle (IONP) dispersions. At the Near and InterMediate Range Order Diffractometer (NIMROD) at ISIS, the IONPs could even be investigated in pure water, whereas at the Nanoscale Ordered Materials Diffractometer (NOMAD) at SNS, heavy water had to be used, but additional information could be retrieved from modelling the data of IONP powder in the dry state and with adsorbed (heavy) water. The simple and robust approach can easily be adapted for the use in other multicomponent systems, like heterogenous catalysts or battery systems. Supplementary Information: The online version contains supplementary material available at 10.1007/s00396-024-05333-z.

Authors 4

1. Sabrina L. J. Thomä corresponding Aachen Institute of Crystallography

   RWTH Aachen University · Swiss Federal Laboratories for Materials Science and Technology

   Affiliation as printed

   Center for X-Ray Analytics, Empa - Swiss Federal Laboratories for Materials, Science and Technology, Überlandstrasse 129, CH-8600 Dübendorf, Switzerland

   Institute of Crystallography, RWTH Aachen University, Jägerstr. 17-19, 52066 Aachen, Germany

   Institute of Crystallography, RWTH Aachen University, Jägerstr. 17-19, 52066, Aachen, Germany

2. Jöerg C. Neuefeind

   Oak Ridge National Laboratory

   Affiliation as printed

   Neutron Scattering Science Directorate, Oak Ridge National Laboratory, 1 Bethel Valley Road, Oak Ridge, TN 37831-6475 USA

   Neutron Scattering Science Directorate, Oak Ridge National Laboratory, 1 Bethel Valley Road, Oak Ridge, TN, 37831-6475, USA

3. Tristan G. A. Youngs

   Rutherford Appleton Laboratory · ISIS Neutron and Muon Source

   Affiliation as printed

   ISIS Neutron and Muon Source, STFC Rutherford Appleton Laboratory, Harwell Campus, Didcot, Oxfordshire OX11 0QX UK

   ISIS Neutron and Muon Source, STFC Rutherford Appleton Laboratory, Harwell Campus, Didcot, Oxfordshire, OX11 0QX, UK

4. Mirijam Zobel corresponding Aachen Institute of Crystallography

   RWTH Aachen University · Forschungszentrum Jülich

   Affiliation as printed

   Institute of Crystallography, RWTH Aachen University, Jägerstr. 17-19, 52066 Aachen, Germany

   JCNS-3: Neutron Analytics for Energy Research, Forschungszentrum Jülich GmbH, Wilhelm-Johnen-Straße, 52428 Jülich, Germany

   Institute of Crystallography, RWTH Aachen University, Jägerstr. 17-19, 52066, Aachen, Germany