Download citation
Download citation
link to html
Elastic small-angle scattering is sensitive to morphology on the colloidal length scale. In order to make better use of this technique to probe microstructure, a computer program is being developed that will calculate scattering patterns for objects whose shapes and arrangements in space are arbitrary. This program utilizes X-ray diffraction first principles and its only requirement is that the scattering object is centrosymmetric. The simulated data can then be used to extract morphological information from multiphase anisotropic materials, such as polymers, polymer composites and metal alloys. This paper demonstrates the accuracy of this modeling technique for three single-particle morphologies. These simulations are compared to their analytical solution counterparts to show the level of accuracy that can be obtained as a function of simulation time or number of simulated scattering points. This method can be easily adapted to simulate small-angle scattering for single particles whose orientations or geometries make analytical solution extremely difficult or impossible. This is demonstrated with simulations of scattering from a nonideally oriented cylinder, from an elongated hexagon and from a bundle of cylinders.
Follow J. Appl. Cryst.
Sign up for e-alerts
Follow J. Appl. Cryst. on Twitter
Follow us on facebook
Sign up for RSS feeds