High-pressure X-ray photon correlation spectroscopy at fourth-generation synchrotron sources

Abstract

A new experimental setup combining X-ray photon correlation spectroscopy (XPCS) in the hard X-ray regime and a high-pressure sample environment has been developed to monitor the pressure dependence of the internal motion of complex systems down to the atomic scale in the multi-gigapascal range, from room temperature to 600 K. The high flux of coherent high-energy X-rays at fourth-generation synchrotron sources solves the problems caused by the absorption of diamond anvil cells used to generate high pressure, enabling the measurement of the intermediate scattering function over six orders of magnitude in time, from 10−3 s to 103 s. The constraints posed by the high-pressure generation such as the preservation of X-ray coherence, as well as the sample, pressure and temperature stability, are discussed, and the feasibility of high-pressure XPCS is demonstrated through results obtained on metallic glasses.

XPCS at elevated pressure and cryogenic temperatures: Multicomponent dynamics in amorphous ice

“…16,17 Experimental evidence of low-density liquid water was found upon rapid decompression. 18 In addiRon, relaxaRon dynamics at high pressures have been measured via XPCS only recently for metallic glasses 19,20 also using a DAC, as well as gelaRon of a protein soluRon using a hydrostaRc pressure cell 21 , both at room temperatures or above.…”