Development of SAXS microtomography and related methods

Small-angle x-ray scattering (SAXS) is a standard method for non-destructive structure analysis on the nanometer scale with synchrotron radiation. Many soft condensed matter materials (e.g. natural fibers, polymer fibers, wood, polymer parts) are nanostructured, and their macroscopic properties are a result of this structure. Frequently the nanostructure varies across the specimen under investigation. For these samples the combination of SAXS with microtomography opens up new possibilities for non-destructive studies of complex materials. The result is a mosaic of SAXS patterns, which are associated with defined volume elements in the specimen. These reconstructed patterns can be analyzed in order to track the variation of nanostructure inside the sample. Experimental details and results are illustrated in various examples.