x-ray diffractometer

• Subject Area: Materials Engineering
• Term: Funded in 2019
• Project identifier: Deutsche Forschungsgemeinschaft (DFG) - Project number 426603139

The applicants work in the field of manufacturing, characterization, modification and application/testing of metallic and ceramic materials. For the development of novel materials or the further development of established materials knowledge of the atomic arrangement, material´s formation, and material´s reaction under service is a crucial requirement for the modification of materials and understanding of its structure-properties-relationships.An indispensable tool for the identification of the crystalline state of matter is x-ray diffraction analysis, which is one of the most important standard methods for microstructure characterization; it is available in our labs. The x-ray machines, however, possess technical minimum design (theta-theta arrangement, twin circle goniometer), and dynamic sample characterization is not possible with respect to the formation of materials or its reaction to service conditions. This is the reason to apply for modern x-ray equipment with additional features necessary to work in topical fields of material science. With the help of features applied for it is possible i) to investigate material formation kinetics and transformation kinetics (e. g. in heat treatment procedures of metallic materials with a fast 2D detector in combination with direct heating), ii) investigation of thin layers (e. g. ceramic layers on metal substrates with a gracing incidence setup), iii) the formation and dissolution of meso or micro pores (e. g. in zirconia toughened alumina during sintering with small angle x-ray scattering experiments), or the contraction/expansion during structural change of water-sorbing metal-organic framework materials. Another point concerns the variety of matter ranging from steels over ceramics to alumosilicates. In order to cover this different x-ray tubes are necessary, on the one hand to investigate samples with small angle x-ray scattering experiments, on the other hand to avoid undesired underground fluorescence when steels are under investigation.

• DFG Programme: Major Research Instrumentation
• Major Instrumentation: Röntgendiffraktometer
• Instrumentation Group: 4011 Pulverdiffraktometer
• Applicant Institution: Otto-von-Guericke-Universität Magdeburg
• Leader: Professor Dr. Michael Scheffler