Final test run of the high-throughput powder diffraction

On the 15 November 2022, the very last commissioning on the high-throughput powder diffraction routine characterisation system was carried out on ID31. BASF brought approximately three-hundred powder samples to test under realistic experimental conditions.

The samples were prepared and delivered following safety regulations and a well-defined protocol. The three-hundred samples were tested in less than eight minutes (in addition to the setup time), whilst the integrated data was uploaded to the ESRF data portal in real-time.

Athanasios Papazoglou, ESRF Business Developer working with BASF commented, “The rapidity of the system was astonishing and it was a great achievement for BASF who have expressed a strong interest in using the system for their chemistry discovery pipelines for battery and catalyst materials”.

This was the final test run of the high-throughput powder diffraction system before launching routine operation.

ESRF and BASF are in discussions with the aim to provide a regular powder diffraction service for the company. Following a little further development to fine-tune the system, ESRF will be ready to open high-throughput X-ray powder diffraction routine characterisation to both industrial and academic users.