The simultaneous time-resolved study of structure development and reaction kinetics during polymer processing is an experimental method that has great potential in developing a deeper understanding of the parameters that govern the formation of structure and therefore polymer properties. A combination of synchrotron radiation small-angle x-ray scattering and Fourier-transform infrared spectroscopy experiments have been performed on a series of model segmented block copolyurethanes. These studies confirm that the driving force for structure development in polyurethanes is the thermodynamics of phase separation rather than hydrogen bonding.

The gel transformations and subsequent crystallization that occur in the precursor reaction mixture of silicalite were investigated using simultaneous small‐ and wide‐angle X‐ray scattering (SAXS–WAXS). The SAXS–WAXS measurements, together with the use of a high flux of synchrotron radiation and a newly developed high‐pressure reaction cell, provide the possibility of in situ hydrothermal and time‐resolved monitoring of amorphous gel transformations and crystallization.

After over a quarter of a century, the doors of the world's first synchrotron radiation source have closed. Its contribution to materials science in the past and the future should not be underestimated.

Semiconductor hybrid pixel detectors, originally developed for particle physics experiments, have been used for an X‐ray diffraction experiment on a synchrotron radiation source. The spatial resolution of the intensity peaks in the diffraction patterns of silicon and potassium niobate powder samples was found to be better than that of a scintillator‐based system, typically used at present. The two‐dimensional position information of the pixel detector enabled multi‐peak diffraction patterns to be acquired and clearly resolved without the need for an angle scan with a diffractometer. This trial experiment shows the potential of this technology for high‐resolution high‐rate diffraction systems.

Station 7.1 was the first XAFS station to operate at the Synchrotron Radiation Source (SRS) starting in 1981. A major upgrade of 7.1 has been taking place aimed towards a multidimensional XAFS and single crystal facility for 3d elements (Ca to Zn). The optical upgrade included a collimating mirror and QuEXAFS monochromator, also a highly compact and rapid count-rate multi-element solid state detector has been designed, built and recently commissioned. A stopped-flow system is commissioned and a diffractometer stage is planned. The necessary analytical tools for 3D XAFS refinement using crystallographic data as the starting 3D model have been developed for solution XAFS.

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