X-ray Diffraction Methods Research Articles

Greening the composite industry: Evaluating Lantana camara Verbenaceae fiber as a promising substitute for lightweight polymer matrix composites

Presently, researchers are engaged in investigations with the aim of developing novel products that exhibit biodegradability and subsequent environmental friendliness. As products, biofiber-based composites are gaining popularity in various industries. Consequently, this investigation successfully identified a unique cellulosic stem fiber from Lantana camara L. (Verbenaceae) plant. As the fiber was unique, sustainable, and abundantly available throughout all seasons, it was selected for the comprehensive characterization investigation to find its potential use as a lightweight bio-based composite material substitute for synthetic fibers. Physiochemical examination revealed that the Lantana camara Verbenaceae fiber had a greater cellulose concentration (61.23±8.42 %) and density (1167±60 kg/m3), measured to be very less compared to synthetic fiber, making a perfect choice for producing lightweight composites with higher strength. The presence of cellulose Iβ and the ordered character of the crystallites were verified by Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy and X-ray diffraction method. Thermogravimetric study showed the maximum degradation temperature of 323 °C, a thermal stability of 242 °C, and a kinetic activation energy of 66.11 kJ/mol. The maximum tensile strength, strain-to-failure percent, and Young’s modulus were observed for 50-mm-length fibers. Detailed analysis of the longitudinal section of the fiber from atomic force microscopy and scanning electron microscopy study revealed that the fiber had a rough surface, which improves the bonding behavior when reinforced. The aforementioned properties showed that L. camara L. fibers are an excellent, greener alternative reinforcement for composite materials, allowing for the cleaner, more sustainable components.

Three-dimensional nanoporous gold/gold nanoparticles substrate for surface-enhanced Raman scattering detection of illegal additives in food

Owing to their nanoscale size and porous structure, both colloidal gold nanoparticles (AuNPs) and nanoporous gold (NPG) have demonstrated good and stable surface-enhanced Raman scattering (SERS) activity, and are therefore widely used as SERS substrates for the rapid detection of various components in food, environmental, biological, and other samples. In this study, we fabricated a novel, sensitive, and reproducible composite three-dimensional (3D) substrate for rapid SERS-based detection of illegal additives in food products. AuNPs and NPGs were prepared by chemical reduction and chemical dealloying methods, with the particle size of AuNPs about 60 nm and the pore size of NPG in the range of 5–36 nm. The AuNPs were then assembled on the surface of NPG to form the composite substrate 3D-NPG/AuNPs, which was characterized by transmission electron microscopy, scanning electron microscopy, X-ray diffraction, and other methods. Finally, the new SERS substrate combined with a portable Raman spectrometer was used to detect the illegal food additives 6-benzylaminopurine and melamine, with detection limits of 1 × 10−9 M and 5 × 10−7 M respectively. We further analyzed the relationship between the dealloying time-controlled morphology and the SERS properties of NPG, demonstrating that 3D-NPG/AuNPs as a novel SERS substrate have strong practical application potential in the rapid detection of food additives and other substances.

Ganospirones A−G, seven undescribed spiro-meroterpenoids from Ganoderma lucidum and their biological activities

Ganoderma lucidum, a medicinal mushroom with a long history in traditional Chinese medicine, is widely used for chronic diseases. Ganospirones A−G (1–7), seven pairs of undescribed spiro-meroterpenoids, were isolated from the fruiting bodies of G. lucidum. Their structures including absolute configurations were characterized by using NMR spectroscopic data, ECD computational and X-ray diffraction methods. The anti-inflammatory and anti-renal fibrosis activities of the meroterpenoids 1–7 were tested, and the results revealed that (−)-2 and (+)-2 could inhibit iNOS expression in lipopolysaccharide-induced RAW264.7 cells at 20 μM.

Evaluation of multi-walled carbon nanotubes alignment during 3D printing of poly(acrylonitrile-butadiene-styrene) nanocomposite filaments

Nanocomposites incorporated with one-dimensional electrical conductive materials such as carbon nanotubes have been used in many applications in various industries. In this research, the filaments made of poly (acrylonitrile-butadiene-styrene) (ABS) containing 1, 3, and 5 wt% multi-walled carbon nanotubes (MWCNT) were first prepared and then printed in three directions and two printing speeds. The rheological and electrical percolation thresholds were found to take place at 0.32 and 0.96 wt% MWCNT, respectively. Using the Casson plot, it was revealed that the yield stress of the nanocomposites containing 5 wt% MWCNT was 70 times higher than that of the pristine ABS. The results also indicated that the electrical resistance decreased from 17.4 to 6.8 Ω with the increase in printing speed from 4 to 20 mm/s, respectively. The alignment of the nanofillers was examined using X-ray diffraction method. It was found from the azimuth angle that the materials printed at higher printing speed had more orientation, with respect to the director, in comparison with that of printed at lower speed.

Synthesis, characterization and corrosive resistance of ZnO and ZrO2 coated TiO2 substrate prepared via polymeric method and microwave combustion

The TiO2 substrate coatings containing varied ZnO or ZrO2 nanoparticles were made using the polymeric and microwave combustion methods and then thermally treated at various temperatures. Furthermore, before coating on the substrate, the produced nanoparticles undergo characterization and calcination to optimize the conditions for developing ZnO and ZrO2 phases and track their composition. The X-ray diffraction method (XRD), transmission electron microscopy (TEM), and infrared analysis (IR) are used to characterize the calcined produced nanoparticles. After heat treatment at 1000 °C, the TiO2 substrate is prepared. The produced coated substrate is studied using X-ray diffraction (XRD), scanning electron microscopy (SEM), infrared (IR), apparent porosity, bulk density, chemical corrosive properties and electrochemical measurement in 3.5 % NaCl and 1 M HCl solutions. The corrosion resistance of ZnO or ZrO2-covered TiO2 substrate is ascertained by anticorrosive behaviors, which include weight loss, apparent porosity, corrosion rate, and SEM. The findings showed that 800 °C is the ideal temperature for preparing ZrO2-coated substrate, whereas 1000 °C is the perfect temperature for preparing ZnO-coated substrate. The microstructure reveals surface micro-cracks on the ZrO2-coated TiO2 substrate. Good dispersion, homogeneity, and compaction were noted for the ZnO-coated substrate. Between 14 and 17 % of the ZnO-coated substrate and 20–21 % of the ZrO2-coated substrate, made via polymeric and microwave combustion techniques, had visible porosity when ZnO-coated samples exhibited greater corrosion resistance against NaCl media. In contrast, ZrO2-coated samples had much stronger anticorrosive qualities in HCl media than uncoated and Zn-coated samples. According to the electrochemical results, the ZnO-coated TiO2 synthesized by polymeric technique at 1000 °C showed 99.86 % inhibitory efficiency against NaCl. An inhibitory efficiency of 94.4 % was observed in a ZrO2-coated TiO2 substrate that was produced at 800 °C using a polymeric technique.

The amorphization of crystalline silicon by ball milling

The transformation of crystalline silicon to amorphous silicon during ball milling was quantitatively measured by x-ray diffraction and electrochemical methods. Amorphous silicon was found to form rapidly from the very initial stages of ball milling. Simultaneously, the grain size of the crystalline silicon phase decreased. Under extended milling times it was found that a maximum of 86 % of the silicon became amorphous. Similarly, the grain size of the crystalline silicon phase could not be reduced below 6 nm. This transformation followed an Avrami kinetic model, which is consistent with a system which reaches a steady state. These observations suggest a mechanism in which ball milling generates defects, resulting in silicon amorphization and grain size reduction, where the degree of amorphization is limited in extent because there exists a limiting silicon grain size below which defects are no longer formed.

Characterization Methods to Determine Interpenetrating Polymer Network (IPN) in Hydrogels.

Significant developments have been achieved with the invention of hydrogels. They are effective in many fields such as wastewater treatment, food, agriculture, pharmaceutical applications, and drug delivery. Although hydrogels have been used successfully in these areas, there is a need to make them better for future applications. Interpenetrating polymer networks (IPNs) can be created to make hydrogels more adjustable and suitable for a specific purpose. IPN formation is an innovative approach for polymeric systems. It brings two or more polymer networks together with entanglements. The properties of IPNs are controlled by its chemistry, crosslinking density, and morphology. Therefore, it is necessary to understand characterization methods in order to detect the formation of IPN structure and to develop the properties of hydrogels. In recent studies, IPN structure in hydrogels has been determined via chemical, physical, and mechanical methods such as Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy (FTIR), Raman spectroscopy, scanning electron microscopy (SEM), field emission scanning electron microscopy (FESEM), differential scanning calorimetry (DSC), dynamic mechanical analysis (DMA), X-ray diffraction (XRD), and rheology methods. In this paper, these characterization methods will be explained, recent studies will be scrutinized, and the effectiveness of these methods to confirm IPN formation will be evaluated.

Rapid detection of rare events from in situX-ray diffraction data using machine learning.

High-energy X-ray diffraction methods can non-destructively map the 3D microstructure and associated attributes of metallic polycrystalline engineering materials in their bulk form. These methods are often combined with external stimuli such as thermo-mechanical loading to take snapshots of the evolving microstructure and attributes over time. However, the extreme data volumes and the high costs of traditional data acquisition and reduction approaches pose a barrier to quickly extracting actionable insights and improving the temporal resolution of these snapshots. This article presents a fully automated technique capable of rapidly detecting the onset of plasticity in high-energy X-ray microscopy data. The technique is computationally faster by at least 50 times than the traditional approaches and works for data sets that are up to nine times sparser than a full data set. This new technique leverages self-supervised image representation learning and clustering to transform massive data sets into compact, semantic-rich representations of visually salient characteristics (e.g. peak shapes). These characteristics can rapidly indicate anomalous events, such as changes in diffraction peak shapes. It is anticipated that this technique will provide just-in-time actionable information to drive smarter experiments that effectively deploy multi-modal X-ray diffraction methods spanning many decades of length scales.

Understanding of the correlation of structural and microwave dielectric performance of (1-x)MgTiO3 - xCaTiO3 ceramics for dielectric resonator antenna applications

In this article, the effect of CaTiO3 on the structural and microwave dielectric characteristics of MgTiO3 has been discussed. The (1-x)MgTiO3 - xCaTiO3 (abbreviated as (1-x)MT- xCT) for x = 0.025, 0.05, 0.075, 0.1 ceramics have been developed using a solid-state reaction route. The structural as well as morphological characteristics of specimens have been observed by employing X-ray diffraction and scanning electron microscope methods. The Rietveld refinement technique of X-ray diffraction data have been conducted for the refinement of structural phases. It suggests that two crystallographic phases have been present in all materials. The SEM images display dense well-identified grains of (1-x)MT - xCT (for x = 0.025–0.1) ceramics. The Raman spectroscopy method has been employed to detect the symmetry of ceramics and modes of vibration of the materials. The microwave dielectric characteristics like dielectric permittivity (εr), loss (tanδ), quality factor (Q×f), and temperature coefficient at resonant frequency (τf) of (1-x)MT - xCT (for x = 0.025–0.1) ceramics have been thoroughly investigated. The bond strength, bond valency, bond energy, and tolerance factor of (1-x)MT - xCT (for x = 0.025–0.1) materials have been evaluated and their relation with microwave dielectric characteristics has been discussed. The (1-x)MT - xCT (for x = 0.025–0.1) ceramics show excellent dielectric properties with near to zero τf. In addition, DRAs have been designed with (1-x)MT - xCT (for x = 0.025–0.1) materials as dielectric resonators and various antenna properties have been studied with the help of HFSS software. This work suggests that (1-x)MT - xCT for (x=0.05) material can be a promising candidate for DRA applications working in the C band.

Al-Ni-Co decagonal quasicrystal application as an energy-effective catalyst for phenylacetylene hydrogenation

Intermetallic catalysts, including quasicrystals, are considered a sustainable alternative to noble metal-based catalysts in hydrogenation reactions. This study discusses the manufacturing and catalytic potential of an Al-Ni-Co quasicrystalline alloy. Energy-effective and simple catalyst production was provided by a melt-spinning process. The obtained ribbons, characterized in terms of microstructure, phase and chemical composition using X-ray diffraction, scanning and transmission microscopy methods, were composed of a decagonal quasicrystalline phase with traces of crystalline phases. The form of the melt-spun ribbons ensured easy application in the phenylacetylene hydrogenation reaction. The catalyst provided a substrate conversion of approximately 80% and a styrene selectivity of 54% after 1 h of reaction carried out under mild conditions. The repeatability of the reaction course was verified, with a maximum deviation of 10%. Moreover, the catalyst recovered after the reaction was evaluated in terms of its phase composition and surface changes. X-ray diffractograms confirmed the phase stability, however, the surface degradation and oxidation occurred. The catalytic activity after three months of catalyst storage is also discussed.

Thermal degradation of nanoporous Si-containing hybrid terpolymer

AbstractIn this work development of structural and chemical properties of four nanoporous hybrid carbons has been presented. The carbons were synthesized by direct carbonization at 450, 600, 750 and 900 °C of the terpolymeric hybrid precursor composed of methacrylamide, divinylbenzene and trimethoxyvinylsilane and impregnated with sulfanilic acid (SA) as the surface modifier. The conditions of the carbonization process were set on the basis of the thermogravimetric analysis combined with FTIR analysis of the evolved gases (TGA-EGA). The use of SA contributed to the reduction of the carbonization temperature by about 100 °C and resulted in carbons with very uniform and bimodal porosity with the width range of about 1 and 14–28 nm. Spectral (ATR, Raman, XPS) and X-ray diffraction methods used to characterize the resulting carbon products allowed to define the gradual changes taking place in the morphological and chemical structure of the prepared materials. Cyclic and symmetrical structures of silicates species were gradually replaced by amorphous arrangements. At the same time, the increase in the sp2/sp3 carbon ratio from 1 to 65% proved progressive ordering and aromatization of the carbonized polymeric hybrid precursor. Some functional groups (e.g., N-containing) were built into carbon clusters forming pyridinic, pyrrolic and N-graphitic like structures, while others (e.g., carbonyls) were removed from the surface.

Changes of wood surfaces treated with natural-based products – Structural and properties investigation

Preservative systems based on vegetable seed oils and natural waxes from renewable sources may confer protection to wood under exposure to various environmental conditions. These, as non-toxic substances, can form an environmentally friendly and efficient protective layer on the wood surfaces, with beneficial effects on their water resistance and dimensional stability. Thus, these natural coatings may hinder biodegradation of wood products to a certain degree. In present paper, softwood samples (from Abies alba fir tree species), prepared as dried discs (25 to 30 mm diameter, 8 to 10 mm thickness), were surface impregnated by dipping using vegetable oils, namely Asclepias syriaca seed oil, and soybean oil, respectively. Beeswax treatment was also applied for comparison purposes. Surface chemistry and morphology, biodegradation process under controlled and simulated natural conditions, and water sorption behavior of wood samples were investigated. Fourier Transform Infrared spectroscopy, X-ray diffraction, and scanning electron microscopy methods were used for investigation of surface changes in wood samples before and after impregnation with natural based products, as well as under biodegradation conditions in soil burial tests.

Interpass temperature strategies for compressive residual stresses in cladding low-transformation-temperature material 16Cr8Ni via wire arc additive manufacturing

Low-transformation-temperature (LTT) materials induce compressive residual stresses within an effective depth in wire arc additive manufacturing (WAAM), which is well suited for cladding applications. However, this role was found to be sensitive to the phase transformation sequence. We developed an LTT material—16Cr8Ni (16Cr8Ni-LTT)—and to explore its potential, it was clad onto a KA36 substrate via WAAM. Three different interpass temperature strategies were designed as follows: (1) no interpass temperature control; (2) interpass temperature controlled at approximately 270 °C above the martensite transformation start temperature (Ms = 200 °C) for simultaneous phase transformation; and (3) interpass temperature controlled at approximately 50 °C below the martensite transformation finish temperature (Mf = 60 °C) for sequential phase transformation. A thermal elastic-plastic numerical model considering the phase transformation-induced plasticity (TRIP) was developed using in-house software, JWRAIN-Hybrid, to reproduce the temperature field and residual stresses of 16Cr8Ni-LTT cladding. X-ray diffraction (XRD) and contour methods were employed for residual stress measurements. The high accuracy of the model was validated in terms of the temperature, deformation, and residual stress. The reproduced maximum historical temperature distributions were combined with hardness tests to identify the depths and temperatures of the heat-affected zone (HAZ). The measured maximum compressive residual stresses induced by the three interpass temperature strategies for cladding 16Cr8Ni-LTT were −503, −420, and −720 MPa. Moreover, irrespective of the adopted interpass temperature strategy, both longitudinal and transverse residual stresses were compressive in the 16Cr8Ni-LTT cladding. This study provides scientific insights into LLT-induced compressive residual stresses and highlights the superiority and flexibility of cladding LTT materials via WAAM for improving the resistance of large metal components to fatigue and corrosion.

Unraveling Residual Stress Distribution Characteristics of 6061-T6 Aluminum Alloy Induced by Laser Shock Peening.

Laser shock peening (LSP) is a powerful technique for improving the fatigue performance of metallic components by customizing compressive residual stresses in the desired near-surface regions. In this study, the residual stress distribution characteristics of 6061-T6 aluminum alloy induced by LSP were identified by the X-ray diffraction method, and their dependent factors (i.e., LSP coverage, LSP energy, and scanning path) were evaluated quantitatively by numerical simulations, exploring the formation mechanism of LSP residual stresses and the key role factor of the distribution characteristics. The results show that LSP is capable of creating anisotropic compressive residual stresses on the specimen surface without visible deformation. Compressive residual stresses are positively correlated with LSP coverage. The greater the coverage, the higher the residual stress, but the longer the scanning time required. Raising LSP energy contributes to compressive residual stresses, but excessive energy may lead to a reduction in the surface compressive residual stress. More importantly, the anisotropy of residual stresses was thoroughly explored, identifying the scanning path as the key to causing the anisotropy. The present work provides scientific guidance for efficiently tailoring LSP-induced compressive residual stresses to improve component fatigue life.

Enhanced dielectric properties of copper substituted nickel ferrite nanoparticles for energy storage applications

In this study, it was aimed to obtain copper-substituted nickel ferrite nanoparticles, which are advantageous for use in energy storage devices such as batteries and supercapacitors that provide high energy storage capability with their high dielectric behavior, by co-precipitation method. Nickel ferrite nanoparticles in the form of CuxNi1-xFe2O4 containing copper substitution at ratios for x = 0.0, 0.2, 0.4, 0.6, 0.8, 1.0 were synthesized. X-ray diffraction Method (XRD) was used to analyze the spinel structure, the purity phase, and the crystalline size of the nanoparticles. Field Emission Scanning Electron Microscopy (FE-SEM), and Fourier Transform Infrared (FTIR) Spectroscopy were also performed to investigate the particle size, morphological distribution, and the functional groups of the samples. The structural analyses confirmed the successfully produced single-phase pure cubic spinel nickel ferrite and copper-substituted nickel ferrites with nanometer-scale particle distribution. The Impedance Spectroscopy technique was used for the characterization of the dielectric properties of the samples. Frequency-dependent complex dielectric, impedance, modulus, and alternating current (AC) conductivity mechanisms of the copper-doped nickel ferrite nanoparticles (CuxNi1-xFe2O4) were determined. The results showed that copper-induced nickel ferrite nanoparticles display a promising dielectric material consisting of grains and grain boundaries which are confirmed by Maxwell-Wagner interface-type polarization, which is in agreement with Koop's theory. Furthermore, a remarkable enhancement is obtained on the dielectric parameters of copper-induced nickel ferrites for x = 0.2, and it is seen that this is a critical value on the doping ratio. In addition, the dielectric parameters decreased between x = 0.2–0.8 ratios but still showed higher values than pure nickel ferrites, confirming that nickel ferrites have a tunable dielectric behavior depending on the stoichiometric copper doping ratios. Therefore, this may make them a promising dielectric medium for further studies in various electronic device applications.

Bimetallic NiFe nanoparticles deposited on hollow glass microspheres (HGMs) of various sizes for the catalytic hydrogenation of CO2

The composites based on hollow glass microspheres (HGMs) decorated with nanoparticles of nickel and iron oxides were prepared from the nitrate solutions with ultrasound treatment. Further exposition of these composites in a hydrogen-helium flow leads to the formation of nanosized bimetallic particles of Ni(80)Fe(20) (number in the brackets is estimated as wt%) that are effective in the catalytic reaction of CO2 hydrogenation to methane. Investigation of CO2 conversion was carried out under gas chromatographic control, and methane yield was evaluated for composites with 20 and 60 wt% of grafted bimetallic mass. The TPD MS method was used to study the processes of desorption of particles involved in the mechanism of methane formation. Textural and structural characteristics of as-prepared and post-reacted composites were examined using low-temperature nitrogen adsorption and X-ray diffraction methods.

Ultrafast Picometer-Resolved Molecular Structure Imaging by Laser-Induced High-Order Harmonics.

Real-time visualization of molecular transformations is a captivating yet challenging frontier of ultrafast optical science and physical chemistry. While ultrafast x-ray and electron diffraction methods can achieve the needed subangstrom spatial resolution, their temporal resolution is still limited to hundreds of femtoseconds, much longer than the few femtoseconds required to probe real-time molecular dynamics. Here, we show that high-order harmonics generated by intense femtosecond lasers can be used to image molecules with few-ten-attosecond temporal resolution and few-picometer spatial resolution. This is achieved by exploiting the sensitive dependence of molecular recombination dipole moment to the geometry of the molecule at the time of harmonic emission. In a proof-of-principle experiment, we have applied this high-harmonic structure imaging (HHSI) method to monitor the structural rearrangement in NH_{3}, ND_{3}, and N_{2} from one to a few femtoseconds after the molecule is ionized by an intense laser. Our findings establish HHSI as an effective approach to resolve molecular dynamics with unprecedented spatiotemporal resolution, which can be extended to trace photochemical reactions in the future.

Sol-Gel Production of Unmodified and Lanthanum-Modified BiFeO3 Nanomaterials and Photoelectrochemical Studies of Hydrogen Evolution

We provide a simple sol-gel method for synthesising LaxBi1-xFeO3 (x=0.00, 0.10). Greater control over the BiFeO3 particle shape and phase purity is possible with this manufacturing technique.X-ray diffraction, scanning electron microscopy, and UV-visible spectroscopy were used, respectively, to assess the crystallographic analysis, particle shape, and optical qualities of the material. The X-ray diffraction method proved the production of a pure phase of BiFeO3.The synthesised materials shown good photocatalytic activity when exposed to UV-visible light. We discovered that doped materials had better photocatalytic activity of producing hydrogen than virgin materials. We have also recorded the amount of hydrogen production by inverted burette technique.

An approach for identifying the deformation-induced strain from tensile tests and x-ray diffraction measurements

ABSTRACT Non-uniform plastic deformation and phase transformation introduce residual stress (RS) in a material. The present study focuses on the influence of tensile strain on RS development in 304L austenitic stainless steel, wherein strain-induced martensite (SIM) transformation influences deformation behaviour. Room temperature tensile tests were interrupted at various tensile strains between the material yield and ultimate tensile strength at 5.21 × 10−4 and 1.3 × 10−2 s−1 strain rates. Microstructural characterisation of as-received and deformed samples by electron backscatter diffraction provides evidence of SIM formation and shear bands. Analysis of tensile flow and work hardening behaviour is discussed in correlation to the microstructural and dislocation density variations. In addition, RS in the austenite and martensite phases was measured using the x-ray diffraction method, and the RS balance that occurs between the longitudinal and transverse components and the two phases after tensile deformation is presented. It is shown that a combined analysis of RS and x-ray diffraction peak width could be utilised to find the deformation level in tensile fractured, press brake bent, and roll bent samples.

Elaboration and characterization of a natural bentonite-poly(ethylene glycol) composite: Development of an exact theoretical study in function of the polymer-density

The first aim of this work was a systematic experimental and theoretical study of the basal-spacing and characteristics of X-rays diffraction-peaks (positions, intensities, crystallites size...), versus the polymer-density, for a natural bentonite-poly(ethylene glycol) composite. The natural bentonite was extracted from a deposit located in Eastern Rif chain of Morocco (near Nador-city). The basal distance and diffraction-peaks characteristics were measured using X-Rays Diffraction (XRD) method, first, for raw bentonite, and second, for bentonite-poly(ethylene glycol) composites. In particular, measurements reveal the existence of a series of montmorillonite-phases (crystallites) of different sizes within the composites. Afterwards, we have developed a powerful theoretical approach based on Renormalization Theory, and obtain exact scaling relations for the physical quantities of interest. We have compared our theoretical predictions with our experimental data dealt with the considered natural bentonite-poly(ethylene glycol) composites, and found that theory and experiment are in good agreement. Also, as a complementary experimental study, we achieved a detailed analysis of pure PEG, natural bentonite and Bentonite-PEG composites using the so-called Fourier Transform Infrared Spectroscopy (FTIR) tool. A comparison between these complexes show that the polymer-density affects drastically the stretching and bending vibration modes.