Webinar: Focus on Battery Research: Studying Battery Cathode Materials Using X-Ray Diffraction

Tuesday, April 22: 10:30-11:30AM.

The cathode in a lithium-ion battery undergoes unique electrochemical reactions as lithium enters and leaves the atomic structure of the intercalated lithium compound. The intricacies of this reaction are one source of degradation and, therefore, an opportunity to improve performance. X-ray diffraction and scattering is well-suited to study these atomic phase changes, as well as a tool to understand and optimize the pathways that lithium uses to move through the cathode. However, studying battery materials requires special considerations that are different than the routine powder diffraction measurement.

This webinar, hosted by Malvern PANalytical will review the information that X-ray diffraction and scattering provides and discuss special considerations for experimental design such as selecting an X-ray tube, measurement geometry, and sample holder. We will then show examples of how these considerations are applied to cathode material analysis, including Rietveld refinement to quantify phase mixtures and atomic structure, pair distribution function analysis to examine local structural defects, and phase analysis of thick (10mm) commercial pouch cells, and in operando analysis of LFP based batteries to track phase changes during discharge and charging.

You can sign up for it here.

Speakers

Dr. Scott Speakman – Principal Scientist Malvern Panalytical
and Dr. Reeves-McLaren of The University of Sheffield

More information

– Who should attend?
Those working within the field of battery research or manufacturing or anyone interested in X-ray Diffraction of materials.
– What will you learn?
You will be educated on the X-ray diffraction and scattering application of lithium-ion batteries, including: Electrochemical reactions and atomic phase changes, with discussion on the special considerations needed for this application.

 

Webinar – XRD Masterclass 1 – Characterization Of Amorphous API

Webinar from Malvern PANalytical – XRD Masterclass 1 – Characterization Of Amorphous API 

Small molecule drug products often face multiple development challenges, common amongst which are those relating to solubility, stability and manufacturability.

The Developability Classification System (DCS) provides useful guidelines for selecting a formulation technology, based on assessment of the drug’s fundamental properties and dose expectations. APIs which fall under Class 1 (good solubility, good permeability) were discovered and delivered to the market early on.

Nowadays, the majority of small molecule drug candidates are poorly soluble and belong to Class 2 (a & b). For these molecules, solid-form screening and new formulation types are required to create competitive pharmaceutical products.

In the search for more soluble or bioavailable forms, different types of drug formulations are being  considered, including nanoparticles, amorphous solid dispersions, co-crystals and drug carrier systems. In this webinar, we’ll focus on amorphous formulations and address the following questions:

• Are amorphous compounds which are obtained in different experimental conditions the same?
• Are they free of nano-crystalline material and are they truly amorphous?
• What are the best ways of quantifying low and high amorphous content?
• How we can we use X-ray diffraction to answer these, and more, questions?

The MCF will be playing this webinar in the MCF Lobby but if you would like to register for this and watch it on your own computer, you can register here.

Date: February 20 2020

Time: 10:30 – 11:30

MCF is adding another XRD!

X-Ray Diffraction (XRD) is a powerful tool to look at crystals for characterizing microstructural and crystallographic properties of powders, thin films, fibers and other solid materials. The MCF has recently added another XRD, a Malvern PANalytical MPD to its capabilities. This XRD has a flat sample stage (default) for the analysis of powders and small solids, a non-ambient stage capable of running from -196C-450C, and a reflectivity stage. It should be on SUMS no later than 8/12/2019!

Image result for ford xrd gatech

Webinar – How is Particle Size Measured

Masterclass
October 23
10:30 ET
The MCF will be showing this webinar on the monitor in Marcus at 10:30AM on October 23rd.
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There is a gamut of particle size distribution measurement techniques each with established history and advantages.

The killer word in particle size distribution is the last one (distribution) and measurement of broad distributions is the bane of all sizing techniques.

After a very short introduction to ‘how much sample should we measure to describe the distribution’, we’ll be running through the background of some of the more popular techniques (sieves, sedimentation, electrical-sensing zone) and will emphasize the popular light scattering techniques of laser diffraction and dynamic light scattering.

As an aside, we’ll be mentioning Small-Angle X-ray Scattering (SAXS).