|
Dr Suprakas Sinha Ray with the SAXS instrument at the NCNSM |
The CSIR's National Centre for Nano-Structured Materials (NCNSM) co-hosted a workshop on small-angle X-ray scattering (SAXS) at the end of January. The two-day workshop was presented by Dr Heimo Schnablegger from Anton Paar GmbH in Graz, Austria. Dr Schnablegger is one of the world's foremost researchers on SAXS.
According to the CSIR's Dr Suprakas Sinha Ray, also an expert on SAXS, the technique is a well-established analytical method for nanostructure analysis. It is widely used in both scientific material research and the routine characterisation of materials during production or processing.
"The SAXS technique is, however, very new to the continent of Africa and we want to make it more popular in at least South Africa. One way to achieve this is by teaching others in the field of nanoscience about the technique and how to apply it," says Suprakas.
He explains that the SAXS method is accurate, economical and non-destructive with a wide range of applications from emulsions, liquid crystals and macromolecules to porous materials and alloys.
"One uses this technique on sample materials that can be solid or liquid but which contain nanosized domains of another material. These domains, in turn, can be solid, liquid or gaseous and range from 1 nanometer (nm) to 100 nm. When X-rays penetrate such a material, they are scattered on the interfaces of the nanostructures and produce a pattern specific to the structure."
The workshop, co-hosted by Advanced Laboratory Solutions, drew 21 participants. "I believe that the workshop was highly successful and that everyone who attended learned a new skill that will assist them greatly in their future research," concludes Ray.
Enquiries: CSIR Communication
|
