Small Angle X-ray Scattering for Soft Materials in the North of the UK

Context and Challenge Addressed. Small angle X-ray scattering (SAXS) provides crucial insights into long-range order, including nanoparticle shape and size distribution, fibre orientation in tissues and composites, and nanometre-scale porosity. It is indispensable for characterizing colloid-scale structures (<1 µm) such as surfactants, nanoparticles, gels, and formulated products, which are vital in industries like Home and Personal Care, oils, and lubricants. SAXS underpins EPSRC themes in physical sciences, healthcare technologies, and manufacturing the future. Despite strong UK-based research, there is limited access to SAXS facilities north of Leeds. Northern researchers rely on highly competitive beamtime at Diamond Light Source (DLS) or the ESRF in Grenoble, facing long delays and restricted opportunities due to proposal requirements and scheduling constraints, as well as extensive travel and carbon emissions, or via collaborations with distant facilities which limits throughput and innovation. Recent advances in laboratory SAXS allow excellent data quality; it is now an essential and standard tool for materials characterization. Locally available instruments provide proof-of-principle data supporting applications for and making best use of beamtime to new and irregular users. We will install a highly versatile system with specialist features, such as combining rheology and SAXS (rheo-SAXS), high-temperature provision, a flow cell, USAXS to extend the length scale probed, and wide-angle X-ray scattering (WAXS). These capabilities are critical for studying gels, polymers, nanoparticles, and proteins. The system will offer experimental flexibility, allowing bespoke configurations to enhance scientific impact across EPSRC themes while addressing the SAXS provision gap in northern UK. Aims. Our aim is to establish a new SAXS/WAXS suite at the University of Glasgow (UofG) to drive research in soft matter and formulated products for both academic and industrial users. By demonstrating the power of the technique to the many potential users in the north we will broaden access, accelerate research, and overcome bottlenecks in availability in the northern UK. We will therefore also provide a new pipeline of trained users to benefit UK plc. Objectives. Our objectives are to: install SAXS/WAXS; demonstrate the new capabilities of this facility to characterise a wide range of materials to existing and new users across the north of the UK; provide a new service to industrial users; grow a sustainable user base; and deliver impact including a new pipeline of trained users, new research opportunities and new collaborations. Potential Applications and benefits. We will install a state-of-the-art facility with the best-in-class of laboratory equipment in the UK, to deliver a multitude of experiments under a wide range of environments suitable for many different (established and new) academic and industrial users. The breadth of available experiments that will be possible and the flexibility of our system will allow a wide range of users to probe a wide number of different types of system, significantly enhancing the opportunities currently available. Overall, we will provide a new regional facility embedded within the excellent wider materials characterisation facillities at UofG. We have committed parties (industrial and academic), as established and new users. There are real opportunities here to maximise regional research strength and establish new collaborations. Our facility will be highly accessible, complementing and significantly enhancing UK capabilities. Non-specialist access will be facilitated via a new, permanent technical post (RTP), overcoming the common hurdles of experiment design and data fitting enabling a new pipeline of skilled users.