Subject: Materials Analysis and the Environment

The Bridge | Materials Analysis eNewsletter

JUNE 2022, ISSUE 108

WELCOME

Powering New Perspectives

The vast universe of materials analysis

As Rigaku’s 70^thAnniversary celebrations come to a close, it provides an opportunity to reflect on our “why”; our raison d'être for what Rigaku is striving to achieve. Before this newsletter is composed, content is gathered from various divisions of the organization and, this month, it was genuinely impressive to look at the submitted information covering a vast array of applications and fields of study that we support with our instrumentation.

This month, learn about strain-induced crystallization of rubber, silicone coatings on paper and plastics, the fight against opioids, our attendance at the upcoming Battery Show, and 3-D observations of mouse kidneys.

To quote our president: “...we have continued to develop and grow alongside our customers, always mindful of our mission: to contribute to the enhancement of humanity through scientific and technological development. All of us hope that the work we do today will make the world a better place for the generations that follow by powering new perspectives.”

IN THE NEWS

Article

A new paper, published in Scientific Reports, introduces paraffin-mediated contrast enhancement used to visualize biopsy samples of mouse kidney with nano3DX, Rigaku’s laboratory-based X-ray microscope.

Podcast

Listen to Episode 1 of the podcast called The Opioid Matrix: The U.S. Domestic Drug War-Is this battle a lost cause? where Jen Lynch, Marketing Director at Rigaku Analytical Devices, talks with Michael W. Brown the host of the show and Global Director of Counter-Narcotics Interdiction Partnerships at Rigaku Analytical Devices, about the domestic side of the war on drugs.

VIDEO OF THE MONTH

Rigaku NEX LS Scanning Multi-element Coating Analyzer

Watch how coatings are analyzed using the Rigaku NEX LS Scanning Multi-element Coating Analyzer. Designed explicitly to meet the needs of challenging conditions found in coating and converting processes, NEX LS helps maintain routine quality control for web and coil applications. The NEX LS linear scanner provides real-time coat weight profiling of your process. Common applications include silicone release coaters, converters, denesting Si for vacuum-formed plastics, conversion coatings, fuel cell loadings, metalized plastic, top coatings on metal coil, and fire retardants on fabric.

LINK OF THE MONTH

This multi-award-winning Naked Scientists Podcast comes to you from Cambridge University and delivers a weekly dose of the world's most important science news and breakthroughs. The Naked Scientists are a team of scientists, doctors and communicators whose passion is to help the general public to understand and engage with the worlds of science, technology and medicine.

UPCOMING EVENTS

Rigaku at the Battery Show Europe 2022: X-ray analysis solutions for battery materials
June 28-30, 2022 Stuttgart, Germany

From June 28-30, Battery Show Europe 2022 will open its doors again in Stuttgart. Rigaku welcomes visitors and experts at booth 10-B65 and will use the show to present numerous analytical tools for the examination of laminated batteries, button cells, and all-solid-state batteries. Suitable analysis equipment can be demonstrated upon request. These include SmartLab, MiniFlex600, ZSX Primus IV, Supermini200, CT-Lab HX130, and nano3DX.

FEATURED APPLICATION NOTES

Observation of Strain-Induced Crystallization of Natural Rubber.

Rigaku Corporation

In addition to evaluation of crystal structure, X-ray diffractometry enables evaluation of periodic structure called "long-period structure." For this long-period structure, it is necessary to observe a period a few times to a few tens of times longer than the periodic structure of atoms or molecules in ordinary crystals, and thus evaluation using small-angle scattering measurement becomes important. Structural changes due to heating, stretching, magnetic fields and other external factors are often seen, particularly in samples such as polymers and rubber which have both a crystal structure (microstructure) and long-period structure (macro structure). New findings can be obtained by evaluating both crystal structure and long-period structure while varying these external factors.
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Silicone Coating on Paper and Plastic

Applied Rigaku Technologies

Paper and plastic are coated with a thin layer of silicone as a release coating in the manufacture of labels, tape, or other adhesives, or as a barrier coating for protection against air in the packaging of food, medical products, and other materials. In a clay-coated paper, the clay coating adds weight and adjusts various physical properties such as paper glossiness and ink retention. During the coating process, the amount of silicone coating, usually expressed as coat weight in g/m² or lbs/ream, must be periodically measured in order to ensure the proper physical properties of the product. When the coating is too heavy, silicone material is needlessly wasted, while too little coating may not meet the product spec. To achieve reliable QA/QC, Rigaku offers the NEX QC EDXRF analyzer. Simple to operate, NEX QC gives the QC technician an ideal tool for quickly checking silicone coat weight in order to maintain the highest product quality with minimal costs.
Read More >

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