Pair Distribution Function from Liquid Jet Nanoparticle Suspension using Femtosecond X-ray Pulses

Area of Science:

• Materials Science
• Solid State Physics
• Nanotechnology

Background:

• Understanding the dynamic structural properties of nanoparticles is crucial for developing advanced materials.
• Femtosecond X-ray scattering offers a powerful probe for capturing transient structural changes.

Purpose of the Study:

• To assess the feasibility of using X-ray Free Electron Laser (XFEL) for ultrafast pair distribution function (PDF) analysis.
• To investigate the structural characteristics of hafnium dioxide (HfO2) nanoparticles in a liquid jet environment.

Main Methods:

• X-ray scattering data collection at the SACLA XFEL facility on HfO2 nanoparticles suspended in a liquid jet.
• Pair Distribution Function (PDF) analysis of the collected scattering data.
• Comparison of PDF results with data obtained from a synchrotron source (PETRA III).

Main Results:

• A promising PDF was obtained from the XFEL data, despite a modest Qmax of ~8 Å⁻¹.
• Key PDF features were consistent with synchrotron data, validating the XFEL approach.
• Reliable structural parameters, including unit cell dimension and particle size, were refined from the XFEL PDF.

Conclusions:

• Femtosecond timescale PDF analysis is viable for studying amorphous and disordered systems.
• Optimization of experimental conditions can further enhance the quality of PDF data from XFEL sources.
• This study opens new avenues for ultrafast structural science research.