Single Crystal X-Ray Laboratory

The single-crystal X-ray lab facility is currently equipped with a series of instruments and provide a wide range of measurement conditions on single crystals and different kinds of polycrystalline samples (powders in capillary, thin sections, …).  The staff provides service and scientific support to internal research groups, external academics as well as industry service. A series of devices allow to perform routine experiments along with in-situ experiments under extreme conditions.

The single-crystal X-ray lab is equipped with three diffractometers and a series of devices, which allow to perform routine experiments along with in-situ exps. under extreme conditions.

Three 4-circle kappa diffractometers are available:

1. a new Rigaku XtaLAB Synergy-S, equipped with a microfocus Mo-Kalpha source and a HyPix-6000HE detector, installed in the framework of the “Progetto di Eccellenza 2018-2022 - LE GEOSCIENZE PER LA SOCIETA': RISORSE E LORO EVOLUZIONE”, supported by the Italian Ministry of Education – MIUR.
2. Xcalibur-1 - Oxford Diffraction, equipped with a standard Mo-Kalpha source and both point and CCD detector
3. KM4 KUMA, equipped with a Mo-Kalpha source and a point detector.
4. Driving software and data reduction are governed by the suite CrysAlisPro^TM.

The laboratory serves a series of academic research groups and third parties. Experiments aimed to identify the nature of a single crystal or poly-crystalline aggregates are routinely performed, as well as to solve and refine the crystal structure of “new” materials. As we are also interested in experiments under extreme conditions, the laboratory is equipped with a series of devices devoted to in-situ high-pressure experiments: ETH-type diamond anvil cells, mini-spectrophotometer for pressure calibration by fluorescence methods, spark eroder and mechanical micro-driller.

• Crystallography: Structure analysis
• Mineral physics: Equation of State, Elastic properties, Phase stability

The materials under investigation are usually minerals, or their synthetic analogues. 
Beyond the mineralogy, experiments on materials used in material sciences, solid-state chemistry, pharmaceutical, forensic, and archaeological sciences are currently performed.

Bachelor, master and PhD students are educated to the use of the diffractometers and of the high-pressure devices.
Courses devoted to the data treatment and structure refinement are provided. 

Via Botticelli 23 - 20133 Milano