Small angle X-ray scattering studies of aggregation in supercritical fluid solutions

Abstract

Small-angle X-ray scattering (SAXS) can be used to derive structural information on molecular aggregates having sizes from 2 to 200 nm. Not only is the technique useful for probing fluid structure in pure and simple binary supercritical fluid systems, but the technique is also well suited to investigate a range of much more complex multi-molecular aggregates that form when surfactants are added to supercritical fluids. The authors describe the experimental apparatus that was constructed for these studies and the experimental approach used to collect the scattering data. They present scattering results for pure fluids and for fluids containing various types of microemulsion phases, including reverse micelle and normal micelle phases. These results demonstrate that SAXS is a powerful technique for probing various types of molecular aggregation in supercritical fluid solutions.