TY - JOUR A1 - Müller, W. A1 - Schweins, R. A1 - Nöcker, B. A1 - Kohlbrecher, J. A1 - Smales, Glen Jacob A1 - Huber, K. T1 - Comparative study of the co-assembly behaviour of 3-chloro-4-hydroxy-phenylazo dyes with DTAB JF - Soft Matter N2 - The co-assembly of three one-fold negatively charged 3-chloro-4-hydroxy-phenylazo dyes (Yellow, Blue and Red) with the cationic surfactant dodecyltrimethylammoniumbromide (DTAB) was studied to probe dye–DTAB binding stoichiometry and assembly morphology. For each dye, phase separation was observed above a given dye : DTAB ratio with the ratio depending on the dye. While Yellow and DTAB showed liquid/liquid phase separation above Yellow : DTAB = 1 : 1.67, crystalline dye–DTAB complexes were observed for Blue–DTAB and Red–DTAB above Blue : DTAB = 1 : 2.56 and Red : DTAB = 1 : 2.94 respecively. In homogeneous solution, UV/vis spectroscopic investigations suggest stochiometries of Yellow : DTAB = 1 : 2, Blue : DTAB = 1 : 3 and Red : DTAB = 1 : 4. It was concluded, that Yellow exhibits the highest dye : DTAB binding stoichiometry in both, dye–surfactant complexes in the 2-phase region and in solution, whereas the lowest dye : DTAB binding stoichiometry was observed for Red–DTAB in both cases. The observed stoichiometries are inversely correlated to the impact dye addition has on the morphology of DTAB micelles. Generally, addition of dye to DTAB micelles leads to a reduction in spontaneous curvature of these micelles and to the formation of triaxial ellipsoidal or cylindrical micelles from oblate ellipsoidal DTAB micelles. At a DTAB concentration of 30 mM and a dye concentration of 5 mM, this effect was most pronounced for Red and least pronounced for Yellow, whilst Blue showed an intermediate effect. KW - Dye KW - DTAB KW - SAXS KW - Small-angle X-ray scattering KW - X-ray scattering KW - Data analysis KW - Micelle PY - 2023 UR - https://nbn-resolving.org/urn:nbn:de:kobv:b43-576978 DO - https://doi.org/10.1039/D3SM00501A SN - 1744-683X VL - 19 IS - 24 SP - 4588 EP - 4598 PB - Royal Society of Chemistry AN - OPUS4-57697 LA - eng AD - Bundesanstalt fuer Materialforschung und -pruefung (BAM), Berlin, Germany ER - TY - JOUR A1 - Hildebrandt, Jana A1 - Taubert, Andreas A1 - Thünemann, Andreas T1 - Synthesis and Characterization of Ultra‐Small Gold Nanoparticles in the Ionic Liquid 1‐Ethyl‐3‐methylimidazolium Dicyanamide, [Emim][DCA] JF - ChemistryOpen N2 - AbstractWe report on gold clusters with around 62 gold atoms and a diameter of 1.15±0.10 nm. Dispersions of the clusters are long‐term stable for two years at ambient conditions. The synthesis was performed by mixing tetrachloroauric acid (HAuCl4 ⋅ 3 H2O) with the ionic liquid 1‐ethyl‐3‐methylimidazolium dicyanamide ([Emim][DCA]) at temperatures of 20 to 80 °C. Characterization was performed with small‐angle X‐ray scattering (SAXS), UV‐Vis spectroscopy, and MALDI‐TOF mass spectrometry. A three‐stage model is proposed for the formation of the clusters, in which cluster growth from gold nuclei takes place according to the Lifshitz‐Slyozov‐Wagner (LSW) model followed by oriented attachment to form colloidal stable clusters. KW - Reference materials KW - SAXS KW - Gold KW - Nanoparticle KW - Small-angle X-ray scattering KW - Ionic liquid PY - 2023 UR - https://nbn-resolving.org/urn:nbn:de:kobv:b43-588203 DO - https://doi.org/10.1002/open.202300106 SN - 2191-1363 VL - 44 SP - 1 EP - 19 PB - Wiley AN - OPUS4-58820 LA - eng AD - Bundesanstalt fuer Materialforschung und -pruefung (BAM), Berlin, Germany ER - TY - JOUR A1 - Henning, L. M. A1 - Smales, Glen Jacob A1 - Colmenares, M. G. A1 - Bekheet, M. F. A1 - Simon, U. A1 - Gurlo, A. T1 - Synthesis and properties of COK-12 large-pore mesocellularsilica foam JF - Nano Select N2 - Large, ink-bottle-shaped pores in mesocellular foams (MCFs) are desired for various applications requiring enhanced mass transfer or the immobilization of larger compounds. Hence, the cylindrical pores of COK-12, an ordered mesoporous silica structurally comparable to SBA-15 but synthesized at room-temperature at quasi-neutral pH, are chemically swollen into ink-bottle pores. Therefore, p-xylene is used as a more sustainable swelling agent compared to popular alternatives. Its high boiling point allows for an additional thermal aging step to amplify the mesostructure enlargement without needing additional chemicals. For COK-12, the MCFs obtained at room temperature reach an unprecedented plateau for the modal mesopore cell and window diameter of 19.9 and 5.5 nm, respectively, with an underlying broad pore size distribution and distorted hexagonal lattice up to 14.5 nm, involving hexagonal and spherical structures. The combined chemical and thermal swelling resulted in the selective enlargement of the window diameter to more than 200% and a slightly increased cell diameter, pore size distribution, and hexagonal lattice distortion in comparison to the room temperature synthesis. Such materials are thought to be promising alternatives to SBA-15-based MCFs, often utilizing toxic catalysts during synthesis. The presented results pave the way for enhanced adsorptive, catalytic, and drug delivery performances for COK-12-based materials. KW - SAXS KW - MOUSE KW - Mesocellular foam KW - Mesoporous silica PY - 2023 UR - https://nbn-resolving.org/urn:nbn:de:kobv:b43-569590 DO - https://doi.org/10.1002/nano.202200223 SP - 1 EP - 11 AN - OPUS4-56959 LA - eng AD - Bundesanstalt fuer Materialforschung und -pruefung (BAM), Berlin, Germany ER - TY - JOUR A1 - Hallier, Dorothea C. A1 - Smales, Glen Jacob A1 - Seitz, H. A1 - Hahn, Marc Benjamin T1 - Bio-SAXS of single-stranded DNA-binding proteins: Radiation protection by the compatible solute ectoine JF - Physical chemistry chemical physics (PCCP) N2 - Small-angle X-ray scattering (SAXS) can be used for structural determination of biological macromolecules and polymers in their native states (e.g. liquid phase). This means that the structural changes of (bio-)polymers, such as proteins and DNA, can be monitored in situ to understand their sensitivity to changes in chemical environments. In an attempt to improve the reliability of such experiments, the reduction of radiation damage occurring from exposure to X-rays is required. One such method, is to use scavenger molecules to protect macromolecules against radicals produced during radiation exposure, such as reactive oxygen species (ROS). In this study we investigate the feasibility of applying the compatible solute, osmolyte and radiation protector Ectoine (THP(B)), as a scavenger molecule during SAXS measurements of the single-stranded DNA-binding protein Gene-V Protein (G5P/GVP). In this case, we monitor the radiation induced changes of G5P during bio-SAXS measurments and the resulting microscopic energy-damage relation was determined from microdosimetric calculations by Monte-Carlo based particle scattering simulations with TOPAS/Geant4 and a custom target-model. This resulted in a median-lethal energy deposit of pure G5P at 4 mg mL−1 of E1/2 = 7 ± 5 eV, whereas a threefold increase of energy-deposit was needed under the presence of Ectoine to reach the same level of damage. This indicates that Ectoine increases the possible exposure time before radiation-damage to G5P is observed. Furthermore, the dominant type of damage shifted from aggregation in pure solutions towards a fragmentation for solutions containing Ectoine as a cosolute. These results are interpreted in terms of indirect radiation damage by reactive secondary species, as well as post-irradiation effects, related to preferential-exclusion of the cosolute from the protein surface. Hence, Ectoine is shown to provide a non-disturbing way to improve structure-determination of proteins via bio-SAXS in future studies. KW - BioSAXS KW - Bio-SAXS KW - Cosolute KW - Ectoine KW - G5P KW - GVP KW - Radiation damage KW - Radical Scavenger KW - Single-stranded DNA-binding proteins KW - X-ray scattering KW - DNA KW - ssDNA KW - Protein KW - SAXS KW - Small-angle xray scattering KW - McSAS3 KW - Dosimetry KW - Microdosimetry KW - Geant4 KW - Geant4-DNA KW - Topas KW - Topas-MC KW - Monte-Carlo simulations KW - Particle scattering simulations KW - Topas-nBio KW - OH Radical KW - OH radical scavenger KW - LEE KW - Ionizing radiation damage KW - Protein unfolding KW - Ectoin PY - 2023 UR - https://nbn-resolving.org/urn:nbn:de:kobv:b43-568909 DO - https://doi.org/10.1039/d2cp05053f SN - 1463-9076 SN - 1463-9084 VL - 25 IS - 7 SP - 5372 EP - 5382 PB - Royal Society of Chemistry CY - Cambridge AN - OPUS4-56890 LA - eng AD - Bundesanstalt fuer Materialforschung und -pruefung (BAM), Berlin, Germany ER - TY - JOUR A1 - Aliyah, K. A1 - Prehal, C. A1 - Diercks, J. S. A1 - Diklić, N. A1 - Xu, L. A1 - Ünsal, S. A1 - Appel, C. A1 - Pauw, Brian Richard A1 - Smales, Glen Jacob A1 - Guizar-Sicairos, M. A1 - Herranz, J. A1 - Gubler, L. A1 - Büchi, F. N. A1 - Eller, J. T1 - Quantification of PEFC Catalyst Layer Saturation via In Silico, Ex Situ, and In Situ Small-Angle X-ray Scattering JF - ACS Applied Materials & Interfaces N2 - The complex nature of liquid water saturation of polymer electrolyte fuel cell (PEFC) catalyst layers (CLs) greatly affects the device performance. To investigate this problem, we present a method to quantify the presence of liquid water in a PEFC CL using small-angle X-ray scattering (SAXS). This method leverages the differences in electron densities between the solid catalyst matrix and the liquid water filled pores of the CL under both dry and wet conditions. This approach is validated using ex situ wetting experiments, which aid the study of the transient saturation of a CL in a flow cell configuration in situ. The azimuthally integrated scattering data are fitted using 3D morphology models of the CL under dry conditions. Different wetting scenarios are realized in silico, and the corresponding SAXS data are numerically simulated by a direct 3D Fourier transformation. The simulated SAXS profiles of the different wetting scenarios are used to interpret the measured SAXS data which allows the derivation of the most probable wetting mechanism within a flow cell electrode. KW - Polymer electrolyte fuel cell KW - Water management KW - Catalyst layer KW - Representative morphology modeling KW - Small-angle X-ray scattering KW - MOUSE KW - SAXS PY - 2023 UR - https://nbn-resolving.org/urn:nbn:de:kobv:b43-575973 DO - https://doi.org/10.1021/acsami.3c00420 SN - 1944-8244 VL - 15 IS - 22 SP - 26538 EP - 26553 PB - ACS Publications AN - OPUS4-57597 LA - eng AD - Bundesanstalt fuer Materialforschung und -pruefung (BAM), Berlin, Germany ER -