Applications, microscopy composites

Applications The general applications of XRD comprise routine phase identification, quantitative analysis, compositional studies of crystalline solid compounds, texture and residual stress analysis, high-and low-temperature studies, low-angle analysis, films, etc. Single-crystal X-ray diffraction has been used for detailed structural analysis of many pure polymer additives (antioxidants, flame retardants, plasticisers, fillers, pigments and dyes, etc.) and for conformational analysis. A variety of analytical techniques are used to identify and classify different crystal polymorphs, notably XRD, microscopy, DSC, FTIR and NIRS. A comprehensive review of the analytical techniques employed for the analysis of polymorphs has been compiled [324]. The Rietveld method has been used to model a mineral-filled PPS compound [325]. 

Munz, M., Cappella, B., Sturm, H., Geuss, M. and Schulz, E. Materials Contrasts and Nanolithography Techniques in Scanning Force Microscopy (SFM) and their Application to Polymers and Polymer Composites. Vol. 164, pp. 87-210. 

Electron probe and X-ray fluorescence methods of analysis are used for rather different but complementary purposes. The ability to provide an elemental spot analysis is the important characteristic of electron probe methods, which thus find use in analytical problems where the composition of the specimen changes over short distances. The examination of the distribution of heavy metals within the cellular structure of biological specimens, the distribution of metal crystallites on the surface of heterogeneous catalysts, or the differences in composition in the region of surface irregularities and faults in alloys, are all important examples of this application. Figure 8.45 illustrates the analysis of parts of a biological cell just 1 pm apart. Combination of electron probe analysis with electron microscopy enables visual examination to be used to identify the areas of interest prior to the analytical measurement. 

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