Researchers headed by physicist professor Olaf Magnussen at the Christian-Albrechts-Universität zu Kiel (CAU), Germany, working with a team from the European Synchrotron Radiation Facility (ESRF) in Grenoble, France, have published a paper in the latest issue of the Journal of the American Chemical Society.
The X-ray radiation of the ID32 station was beamed on a gold surface as it was being dissolved in hydrochloric acid. The X-rays react to nano-changes in the atomic structure present on the surface of the gold making it easy to measure the metal as it is being removed during the teaction.
Magnussen says they had to increase the measurement speed, but this did not alter the consistency of the metal being removed. It melted in part nano-layer by layer, while no deep holes were created. The team used the same method to study atom binding while the metal was being coated by chemicals.
This technique is applicable in high-tech production of electronic products, which calls for accurate monitoring of responses. The method allows measurement of changes in a few thousandth seconds. This helps determine the response at the surface on a nano-scale.
Source: http://www.uni-kiel.de/