Liquid Structure research group
Responsible contact persons: Ildikó Pethes (for DSC: pethes.ildiko at wigner.hun-ren.hu),
László Temleitner (for diffractometer and density meter: temleitner.laszlo at wigner.hun-ren.hu)
The Liquid Structure Research Group operates the Liquid Structure Laboratory (LSL). It consists of experimental devices used for structure determination of liquids, amorphous and disordered crystalline materials. The Liquid Structure Laboratory is open for collaborations with other research institutions as well as with industrial partners in the following areas:
- X-ray powder diffraction for crystalline samples
- Measurement of X-ray total scattering powder pattern and performing PDF analysis for liquids, amorphous and disordered crystalline samples
- Determination of specific heat, phase transition temperatures and latent heat of samples by DSC within the temperature range of -170 and 600°C
- Density measurement of liquids close to room temperature (*not available for external partners)
1. Collaborative research within the institute or with other research institutes
Collaborative research with other research organizations should result in a mutual benefit for both partners. There will be no fee for using the equipment, but it is expected, that the partner contributes to the additional equipment, or consumables which are necessary to perform the actual measurement. Results are expected to be published in collaboration with the participation of those members of the LSL group who participated in the measurements.
2. Measurements for external (industrial) partners
The LSL laboratory is open to perform measurements for industrial partners. The daily fee for using the equipment ranges between 0.9-1.5 % of the price of the actual measuring device. (For longer usage the daily fee is less). Beyond the daily fee the partner is expected to cover the cost of the consumables and an overhead which should not be more than 30 % of the consumables. The actual amount of the overhead depends on the nature of the measurement and data analysis. Naturally, the results and data will be the property of the customer, and participation of the members of the LSL laboratory in the publication of the results is not required, however publications should mention that measurements were carried out in this open laboratory.
The following list contains the available measurement devices and their short resumes, as well:
Perkin Elmer DSC-8000
Differential scanning calorimetry (DSC) is a thermoanalytical technique in which the difference in the amount of heat required to raise the temperature of the sample and reference is measured as a function of temperature.
It allows the detection of phase transformations (e.g. glass transition, crystallisation, melting), the determination of the temperature and energy of the transformation, and the measurement of specific heat.
The DSC 8000 calorimeter with CLN2 cooler can be used from -170°C. The maximum temperature is 600°C using aluminium sample holders. Also suitable for measuring samples which are liquid at room temperature.
Bruker D8 Advanced diffractometer
The X-ray diffractometer is equipped with an Ag source and a Göbel mirror (focusing and Kα12 monochromatization, 0.56Å), allowing to perform high momentum transfer (0.4-21.5 Å-1) studies in capillary transmission geometry, with a 2D detector under low background conditions. Therefore, it is suitable for the measurement of the total scattering powder diffraction pattern, which includes the Bragg and diffuse scattering characteristics for long and short-range order, respectively. Measuring the total scattering pattern allows for PDF analysis, which (among others) provides the distribution of distances between atomic pairs. The equipment is suitable for traditional powder diffraction — it might be advantageous that the characteristic X-ray energy of the Ag source (22.166keV) has a greater penetration depth compared to the more abundant Cu and Mo sources, which allows the use of the transmission capillary geometry on moderately absorbing materials. The device can also be used in Bragg-Brantano geometry (flat plate reflection mode) for strongly absorbing samples. Sample environment (between -150 and 400°C) is available for both (capillary transmission and reflection flat plate) geometries.
Anton Paar DMA 4101 density meter
It can be used to determine the density of liquids at ambient pressure between RT to 100°C with an accuracy of 0.0001 g/cm3, up to a density of 3 g/cm3. Minimal required volume: 1 cm3.