X-Ray Crystallography

The X-Ray Crystallography facility at DiSC includes wide angle X-ray diffraction (WAXD) with temperature control and small angle X-ray scattering (SAXS). Sophisticated computer software is dedicated to the elaboration and study of the acquired diffractograms to determine structural and morphological parameters in inorganic and organic materials as crystalline structure, dimensions of crystallites, crystallinity degree, in addition it is possible to study lamellar morphology in polymer materials.
A senior technical assistant is dedicated to the maintenance of the instruments, both for students training and for support to the collaborations with researchers.

Diffractometers housed at DiSC are:

D8 ADVANCE Plus

The D8 ADVANCE Plus system is capable of automated switching between the parafocusing Bragg-Brentano geometry for powders to the parallel-beam one for epitaxial thin films. It is therefore perfectly suited for all sample types including powder, bulk, fiber, sheet and thin-film (amorphous, polycrystalline and epitaxial) with investigations under ambient or non-ambient conditions. The system is equipped with:
- Multisample stages Flipstick: 9 position sample changer for sequential analysis;
- MTC-FURNACE: a temperature chamber with radiation heating designed to study temperature dependence structural evolution from RT to 1100°C in Vacuum, air or inert gas;
- Eulerian cradle: a 3-axis cradle offering motorized Chi- and Phi-rotations, as well as software controlled Z traslation.

location at DiSC: 215-00-058
contacts: carla.marega@unipd.it

Philips Small Angle X-rays Scattering (SAXS) Diffractometer

The Philips Small Angle diffractometer housed at DiSC is equipped with the Hecus X-Ray Camera. The system allows to collect diffractograms from 0 to 2° in terms of 2θ angles, thus allowing for the study of ordered structures in the range from 10 to 1000 Å.

location at DiSC: 215-01-082

contacts: carla.marega@unipd.it

Bruker D8 Advance Diffractometer

Equipped with a Göbel mirror and a CuKα X-ray source, it can be operated in a traditional Bragg-Brentano (θ-2θ) geometry or in a glancing incidence configuration, allowing thus the structural analysis of powder materials as well as of surfaces and thin films.

contacts: alberto.gasparotto@unipd.it
location at DiSC: 215-01-063

γ-Ray Spectroscopy

γ-Ray Spectroscopy facility of DiSC is:

Mössbauer Spectroscopy

⁵⁷Fe Mössbauer spectroscopy is a nuclear technique that can be used to provide a very precise information about the chemical, structural, magnetic and time-dependent properties of a material. The instrumental set up at DISC allows the investigation both on bulk and on surface. The former can be obtained by the classic transmission spectroscopy while the latter by using a backscattering spectrometer directly projected and constructed in the DiSC.
This facility is used for the investigation of iron and tin containing samples of Cultural Heritage Artefacts.

contacts: luca.nodari@unipd.it
location at DiSC: 215-00-059