Wide-angle X-ray scattering

In X-ray crystallography, wide-angle X-ray scattering (WAXS) or wide-angle X-ray diffraction (WAXD) is the analysis of Bragg peaks scattered to wide angles, which (by Bragg's law) are caused by sub-nanometer-sized structures.[1] It is an X-ray-diffraction[2] method and commonly used to determine a range of information about crystalline materials. The term WAXS is commonly used in polymer sciences to differentiate it from SAXS but many scientists doing "WAXS" would describe the measurements as Bragg/X-ray/powder diffraction or crystallography.

Wide-angle X-ray scattering is similar to small-angle X-ray scattering (SAXS) but the increasing angle between the sample and detector is probing smaller length scales. This requires samples to be more ordered/crystalline for information to be extracted. In a dedicated SAXS instrument the distance from sample to the detector is longer to increase angular resolution. Most diffractometers can be used to perform both WAXS and limited SAXS in a single run (small- and wide-angle scattering, SWAXS) by adding a beamstop/knife edge.

  1. ^ Podorov, S. G.; Faleev, N. N.; Pavlov, K. M.; Paganin, D. M.; Stepanov, S. A.; Förster, E. (2006-09-12). "A new approach to wide-angle dynamical X-ray diffraction by deformed crystals". Journal of Applied Crystallography. 39 (5). International Union of Crystallography (IUCr): 652–655. doi:10.1107/s0021889806025696. ISSN 0021-8898.
  2. ^ "WIDE-ANGLE X-RAY DIFFRACTION THEORY VERSUS CLASSICAL DYNAMICAL THEORY" by S.G. Podorov, A. Nazarkin, Recent Res. Devel. Optics, 7 (2009) ISBN 978-81-308-0370-8