Research Group:
Basic and applied sciences for disordered functional materials
Contact:
| Naoto Kitamura |
| 2641 Yamazaki, Noda, Chiba 278-8510 |
| Telephone: +81-4-7122-9495 |
| naotokiatjrs.tus.ac.jp |
Research Area:
Fundamental Characterization, Applied Materials, Measurements
Beamline:
BL01B1, 04B2, 08W, 12XU, 13XU, 35XU, 37XU, 43LXU, 47XU
Overview of Research Group, Goals and Purposes:
The main activity of this research group is basic and applied studies on functional gdisorderedh systems, e.g., glass, liquid, amorphous solid, and heterogeneous materials. In addition, we also focus on structural disorder in crystalline materials. To reveal the atomic structure of these materials, pairwise correlations have been widely used as conventional method: this is because pairwise correlations make us to investigate the distribution of distances between atomic pairs in real space for disordered materials as well as crystalline materials with structural disorder. Diffraction is a very powerful tool for probing atomic pairwise correlation in disordered systems; however, they need dedicated instruments and data analysis procedures. The mission of our user group is to provide a platform for studying the structure of disordered functional materials and support a wide range of research, from basic to applied sciences, for all kinds of uses of SPring-8/SACLA.
@As mentioned above, pair distribution function (PDF) analysis is our fundamental technique for investigating the structure ranging from atomic- to nanometer-scale. By utilizing high-brightness and high-energy synchrotron X-ray produced at SPring-8, a high-throughput measurement of the PDF with high real-space resolution can be performed. Moreover, element-specific measurements (such as XAFS and anomalous X-ray scattering (AXS)), and small angle X-ray scattering (SAXS) measurements for probing nano- to submicro-structures are also performed at SPring-8. To understand physicochemical properties and functionalities of disordered materials at the atomic and electronic levels, the aid of computer simulation techniques such as reverse Monte Carlo (RMC), molecular dynamics (MD), and density functional (DFT) theory, is indispensable. These computational methods are combined with various synchrotron measurements together with neutron and electron diffraction to construct a reliable three-dimensional structure model of disordered functional materials. Furthermore, we apply novel topological analyses and data science approaches to the three-dimensional structure model to obtain essential information for designing novel functional disordered materials.
@Meanwhile, experimental methods that can provide information on the dynamics of atoms are also important in the scientific field of disordered materials. By investigating the atomic motion at the time range from sub-picoseconds to several hundred nanoseconds, using inelastic x-ray scattering and γ-ray quasi-elastic scattering, we can extract a clear insight into the dynamics of atoms that cannot be understood only by the static (snap shot) structure.
@We will hold a research meeting at least once a year to share outstanding research achievements, and also to gather the userfs opinions. In addition, we are planning to hold hands-on tutorials to provide information on experimental and data analysis techniques for the PDF analysis on amorphous, crystal, and the interphase for new users, including industrial users. Another important mission of our group is to discuss a new instrumentation dedicated to disordered materials in the ongoing upgrading plan of SPring-8. We will also propose specifications for diffractometers and develop novel experimental techniques in association with facility. By a combination of static and dynamic measurements at SPring-8/SACLA, we will clearly show a new science direction concerning disordered materials, and form stronger community of this research field.