Compact optical-excitation approaches have previously enabled synchrotron photocrystallography, including LED-pump/X-ray-multiprobe methods for sub-second time-resolved measurements. Here, we report the implementation of a compact pulsed diode-laser excitation platform for molecular single-crystal photocrystallography at the P11 beamline of PETRA III (DESY). The setup uses a 375 nm picosecond diode laser with compact focusing optics mounted on a fixed translation-stage assembly compatible with the P11 diffractometer and cryogenic sample environment. A [2 × 2] Fe(II) metallogrid complex was used as a model system to evaluate the experimental approach. Diffraction datasets were collected before laser irradiation and at selected delay times after termination of laser exposure. At 80 K, laser irradiation produced small but correlated changes in 〈Fe–N〉 distances, Fe...Fe separations, and photodifference maps, consistent with partial spin-state redistribution within the metallogrid framework. The response relaxed on the tens-of-minutes timescale and was not reproduced at 100 K, supporting assignment to a low-temperature metastable photoinduced structural state. Although some of the structural changes are modest and the photoconversion estimates should be regarded as qualitative indicators, the results demonstrate that compact pulsed diode-laser excitation can be integrated into the P11 single-crystal diffraction environment for steady-state molecular photocrystallography. The implementation also provides a practical foundation for future laser-synchronized pump–probe photocrystallography experiments at synchrotron beamlines.
A dedicated quick-scanning X-ray absorption fine-structure (QXAFS) platform has been established at the SSRF BL11B beamline for in situ and operando studies of dynamic structural evolution on the millisecond-to-second timescale. The system combines a torque-motor-driven Si(111) monochromator, synchronized high-speed acquisition and automated data processing, and operates over an energy range of 5–26.5 keV. Rapid measurements were demonstrated with spectrum acquisition times down to 10 ms for narrow-range XANES, 16.7 ms for full-range EXAFS extending up to k ≃ 12.5 Å −1 , and 50 ms for fluorescence-mode XANES on dilute samples. Quantitative evaluation of frequency-dependent spectral quality further defines practical monochromator oscillation frequencies for the present BL11B platform: approximately 4 Hz for full-range EXAFS over a ∼1000 eV scan window and approximately 30 Hz for short-range XANES over a ∼130 eV scan window, with these recommendations determined by the response characteristics of the current detection system. The capability of the platform is illustrated by in situ monitoring of electrocatalyst reconstruction during the oxygen evolution reaction.
Images acquired by scanning X-ray microscopy are often limited in spatial resolution by the finite size and profile of the scanning probe. Here, we present a dedicated graphical user interface for physics-informed image enhancement that incorporates the experimentally characterized probe to decouple probe-induced blurring from the measured images. The software integrates experimentally reconstructed probe intensity into the model training and provides an end-to-end workflow for image super-resolution and deblurring. We demonstrate the approach using differential phase-contrast imaging, where the finite scanning probe limits the recovery of fine spatial features. The enhanced images recover spatial details beyond those directly resolved in the measured data. This platform provides a practical and reproducible tool for physics-informed image enhancement during synchrotron X-ray microscopy experiments.
We present the design and operation of a low-cost 3D printed resin flow cell for the study of bio-cementation between two aligned particles in contact. The cell supports multimodal synchrotron X-ray characterization of the same interparticle contact, combining 3D X-ray diffraction modalities including scanning 3D X-ray diffraction, X-ray computed tomography and darkfield X-ray microscopy across multiple beamlines at the European Synchrotron Radiation Facility. Its geometry allows calcite crystals precipitated at the particle contact to be unambiguously distinguished from those nucleated on the cell walls during both indexing and crystal selection. The platform is demonstrated on glass beads and S30 sand grains cemented over successive cycles under varying NaCl concentrations, resolving the morphology and orientation of individual calcite crystals from the grain scale down to the intragranular scale. Practical limitations of the current design are also discussed.
Rare-earth elements are key components in a wide range of functional materials, including solid-state lasers, superconductors and high-performance permanent magnets, owing to their localized 4 f electrons that give rise to distinctive electronic and magnetic properties. Nuclear resonant scattering of synchrotron radiation using Mössbauer isotopes provides a powerful isotope-specific probe of these properties, enabling access to vibrational dynamics as well as electronic and magnetic hyperfine interactions. Its application, however, requires dedicated high-resolution monochromators tailored to the ultra-narrow nuclear resonances of individual Mössbauer isotopes. The 8.41 keV nuclear resonance of 169 Tm was among the first resonances excited at synchrotron sources, but has not been revisited since the early pioneering experiments. Here, a narrow-band high-resolution monochromator optimized for the 169 Tm nuclear resonance at the High-Resolution Dynamics Beamline P01 of PETRA III (DESY, Hamburg) is presented. The monochromator provides a tunable energy resolution between 1.4 and 0.33 meV. Its performance is demonstrated by nuclear forward scattering and nuclear inelastic scattering measurements on Tm 2 O 3 and metallic Tm, allowing the determination of hyperfine parameters and the phonon density of states, and derived thermodynamic quantities. The instrument establishes 169 Tm nuclear resonant scattering as a probe of vibrational, electronic and magnetic properties in Tm-based materials.
