High-pressure cell for simultaneous small-angle x-ray scattering and laser light scattering measurements

A cell for in situ observation of self-assembled nanostructured materials in high-pressure fluids, including supercritical carbon dioxide, has been constructed and tested. The compact cell can be used for simultaneous small-angle x-ray scattering, laser light scattering, visual observation, and some other types of spectroscopic measurements. The light scattering plane is normal to the x-ray scattering plane with the optical axis and the x-ray axis being perpendicular to each other. The scattering is detected at the intersection of the light and x-ray beams, and thus one effectively probes the same scattering volume. Some preliminary experimental results for the micellar self-assembly of a fluorinated block copolymer in supercritical carbon dioxide are presented.