Recently, there has been a high demand for elucidating kinetics and visualizing reaction processes under extreme dynamic conditions, such as chemical reactions under meteorite impact conditions, structural changes under non­equilibrium conditions, and in situ observations of dynamic changes. To accelerate material science studies and Earth science fields under dynamic conditions, a submillisecond in situ X-ray diffraction measurement system has been developed using a diamond anvil cell to observe reaction processes under rapidly changing pressure and temperature conditions replicating extreme dynamic conditions. The development and measurements were performed at the high-pressure beamline BL10XU/SPring-8 by synchronizing a high-speed hybrid pixel array detector, laser heating and temperature measurement system, and gas-pressure control system that enables remote and rapid pressure changes using the diamond anvil cell. The synchronized system enabled momentary heating and rapid cooling experiments up to 5000 K via laser heating as well as the visualization of structural changes in high-pressure samples under extreme dynamic conditions during high-speed pressure changes.

The structural and chemical evolution of battery electrodes at the nanoscale plays an important role in affecting the cell performance. Nano-resolution X-ray microscopy has been demonstrated as a powerful technique for characterizing the evolution of battery electrodes under operating conditions with sensitivity to their morphology, compositional distribution and redox heterogeneity. In real-world batteries, the electrode could deform upon battery operation, causing challenges for the image registration which is necessary for several experimental modalities, e.g. XANES imaging. To address this challenge, this work develops a deep-learning-based method for automatic particle identification and tracking. This approach was not only able to facilitate image registration with good robustness but also allowed quantification of the degree of sample deformation. The effectiveness of the method was first demonstrated using synthetic datasets with known ground truth. The method was then applied to an experimental dataset collected on an operating lithium battery cell, revealing a high degree of intra- and interparticle chemical complexity in operating batteries.

Large-bandwidth pulses produced by cutting-edge X-ray free-electron lasers (FELs) are of great importance in research fields like material science and biology. In this paper, a new method to generate high-power ultrashort FEL pulses with tunable spectral bandwidth with spectral coherence using a dielectric-lined waveguide without interfering operation of linacs is proposed. By exploiting the passive and dephasingless wakefield at terahertz frequency excited by the beam, stable energy modulation can be achieved in the electron beam and large-bandwidth high-intensity soft X-ray radiation can be generated. Three-dimensional start-to-end simulations have been carried out and the results show that coherent radiation pulses with duration of a few femtoseconds and bandwidths ranging from 1.01% to 2.16% can be achieved by changing the undulator taper profile.

This work presents a detailed analysis of the performance of X-ray magnetic circular dichroism photoemission electron microscopy (XMCD-PEEM) as a tool for vector reconstruction of magnetization. For this, 360° domain wall ring structures which form in a synthetic antiferromagnet are chosen as the model to conduct the quantitative analysis. An assessment is made of how the quality of the results is affected depending on the number of projections that are involved in the reconstruction process, as well as their angular distribution. For this a self-consistent error metric is developed which allows an estimation of the optimum azimuthal rotation angular range and number of projections. This work thus proposes XMCD-PEEM as a powerful tool for vector imaging of complex 3D magnetic structures.

A new experimental setup combining X-ray photon correlation spectroscopy (XPCS) in the hard X-ray regime and a high-pressure sample environment has been developed to monitor the pressure dependence of the internal motion of complex systems down to the atomic scale in the multi-gigapascal range, from room temperature to 600 K. The high flux of coherent high-energy X-rays at fourth-generation synchrotron sources solves the problems caused by the absorption of diamond anvil cells used to generate high pressure, enabling the measurement of the intermediate scattering function over six orders of magnitude in time, from 10−3 s to 103 s. The constraints posed by the high-pressure generation such as the preservation of X-ray coherence, as well as the sample, pressure and temperature stability, are discussed, and the feasibility of high-pressure XPCS is demonstrated through results obtained on metallic glasses.

This study introduces a novel iterative Bragg peak removal with automatic intensity correction (IBR-AIC) methodology for X-ray absorption spectroscopy (XAS), specifically addressing the challenge of Bragg peak interference in the analysis of crystalline materials. The approach integrates experimental adjustments and sophisticated post-processing, including an iterative algorithm for robust calculation of the scaling factor of the absorption coefficients and efficient elimination of the Bragg peaks, a common obstacle in accurately interpreting XAS data, particularly in crystalline samples. The method was thoroughly evaluated on dilute catalysts and thin films, with fluorescence mode and large-angle rotation. The results underscore the technique's effectiveness, adaptability and substantial potential in improving the precision of XAS data analysis. While demonstrating significant promise, the method does have limitations related to signal-to-noise ratio sensitivity and the necessity for meticulous angle selection during experimentation. Overall, IBR-AIC represents a significant advancement in XAS, offering a pragmatic solution to Bragg peak contamination challenges, thereby expanding the applications of XAS in understanding complex materials under diverse experimental conditions.

Fourth-generation synchrotron storage rings represent a significant milestone in synchrotron technology, offering outstandingly bright and tightly focused X-ray beams for a wide range of scientific applications. However, due to their inherently tight magnetic lattices, these storage rings have posed critical challenges for accessing lower-energy radiation, such as infrared (IR) and THz. Here the first-ever IR beamline to be installed and to operate at a fourth-generation synchrotron storage ring is introduced. This work encompasses several notable advancements, including a thorough examination of the new IR source at Sirius, a detailed description of the radiation extraction scheme, and the successful validation of our optical concept through both measurements and simulations. This optimal optical setup has enabled us to achieve an exceptionally wide frequency range for our nanospectroscopy experiments. Through the utilization of synchrotron IR nanospectroscopy on biological and hard matter samples, the practicality and effectiveness of this beamline has been successfully demonstrated. The advantages of fourth-generation synchrotron IR sources, which can now operate with unparalleled stability as a result of the stringent requirements for producing low-emittance X-rays, are emphasized.

The in situ measurement technique for a metal/metal-oxide mixture at extra-high temperature above 2000 K has been desired in the field of nuclear safety engineering. In the present study, we succeeded in simultaneous XAFS–XRD measurements of the Zr oxidation [Zr + O → Zr(O) + ZrO2] up to 1952 K and ZrO2–Y2O3 reaction from 1952 to 2519 K. The chemical shift during Zr oxidation was observed in the absorption spectra around the Zr K-edge, and the interatomic cation–cation and cation–oxygen distances obtained by the fitting analysis of EXAFS during the Y2O3–ZrO2 reaction are explained. Also, the temperature dependency of the anharmonic effect was investigated by comparing the fitted second- and third-order cumulants with the theoretical ones in which the Morse potential was applied as an interatomic potential, giving a good explanation about the local structure dynamics. Finally, the applicability of the developed system to investigation of nuclear fuel materials, such as UO2–Zr, is discussed.

X-ray gas monitors (XGMs) are operated at the European XFEL for non-invasive single-shot pulse energy measurements and average beam-position monitoring. The underlying measurement principle is the photo-ionization of rare gas atoms at low gas pressures and the detection of the photo-ions and photo-electrons created. These are essential for tuning and sustaining self-amplified spontaneous emission (SASE) operation, machine radiation safety, and sorting single-shot experimental data according to pulse energy. In this paper, the first results from XGM operation at photon energies up to 30 keV are presented, which are far beyond the original specification of this device. Here, the Huge Aperture MultiPlier (HAMP) is used for single-shot pulse energy measurements since the standard X-ray gas monitor detectors (XGMDs) do not provide a sufficient signal-to-noise ratio, even at the highest operating gas pressures. A single-shot correlation coefficient of 0.98 is measured between consecutive XGMs operated with HAMP, which is as good as measuring with the standard XGMD detectors. An intra-train non-linearity of the HAMP signal is discovered, and operation parameters to mitigate this effect are studied. The upper repetition rate limit of HAMP operation at 2.25 MHz is also determined. Finally, the possibilities and limits for future XGM operation at photon energies up to 50 keV are discussed.

Understanding the correlation between chemical and microstructural properties is critical for unraveling the fundamental relationship between materials chemistry and physical structures that can benefit materials science and engineering. Here, we demonstrate novel in situ correlative imaging of the X-ray Compton scattering computed tomography (XCS-CT) technique for studying this fundamental relationship. XCS-CT can image light elements that do not usually exhibit strong signals using other X-ray characterization techniques. This paper describes the XCS-CT setup and data analysis method for calculating the valence electron momentum density and lithium-ion concentration, and provides two examples of spatially and temporally resolved chemical properties inside batteries in 3D. XCS-CT was applied to study two types of rechargeable lithium batteries in standard coin cell casings: (1) a lithium-ion battery containing a cathode of bespoke microstructure and liquid electrolyte, and (2) a solid-state battery containing a solid-polymer electrolyte. The XCS-CT technique is beneficial to a wide variety of materials and systems to map chemical composition changes in 3D structures.

Deflectometric profilometers are used to precisely measure the form of beam shaping optics of synchrotrons and X-ray free-electron lasers. They often utilize autocollimators which measure slope by evaluating the displacement of a reticle image on a detector. Based on our privileged access to the raw image data of an autocollimator, novel strategies to reduce the systematic measurement errors by using a set of overlapping images of the reticle obtained at different positions on the detector are discussed. It is demonstrated that imaging properties such as, for example, geometrical distortions and vignetting, can be extracted from this redundant set of images without recourse to external calibration facilities. This approach is based on the fact that the properties of the reticle itself do not change – all changes in the reticle image are due to the imaging process. Firstly, by combining interpolation and correlation, it is possible to determine the shift of a reticle image relative to a reference image with minimal error propagation. Secondly, the intensity of the reticle image is analysed as a function of its position on the CCD and a vignetting correction is calculated. Thirdly, the size of the reticle image is analysed as a function of its position and an imaging distortion correction is derived. It is demonstrated that, for different measurement ranges and aperture diameters of the autocollimator, reductions in the systematic errors of up to a factor of four to five can be achieved without recourse to external measurements.

Imaging energy filters in photoelectron microscopes and momentum microscopes use spherical fields with deflection angles of 90°, 180° and even 2 × 180°. These instruments are optimized for high energy resolution, and exhibit image aberrations when operated in high transmission mode at medium energy resolution. Here, a new approach is presented for bandpass-filtered imaging in real or reciprocal space using an electrostatic dodecapole with an asymmetric electrode array. In addition to energy-dispersive beam deflection, this multipole allows aberration correction up to the third order. Here, its use is described as a bandpass prefilter in a time-of-flight momentum microscope at the hard X-ray beamline P22 of PETRA III. The entire instrument is housed in a straight vacuum tube because the deflection angle is only 4° and the beam displacement in the filter is only ∼8 mm. The multipole is framed by transfer lenses in the entrance and exit branches. Two sets of 16 different-sized entrance and exit apertures on piezomotor-driven mounts allow selection of the desired bandpass. For pass energies between 100 and 1400 eV and slit widths between 0.5 and 4 mm, the transmitted kinetic energy intervals are between 10 eV and a few hundred electronvolts (full width at half-maximum). The filter eliminates all higher or lower energy signals outside the selected bandpass, significantly improving the signal-to-background ratio in the time-of-flight analyzer.

The New Advanced Telescope for High ENergy Astrophysics (NewAthena) will be the largest space-based X-ray observatory ever built. It will have an effective area above 1.1 m2 at 1 keV, which corresponds to a polished mirror surface of about 300 m2 due to the grazing incidence. As such a mirror area is not achievable with an acceptable mass even with nested shells, silicon pore optics (SPO) technology will be utilized. In the PTB laboratory at BESSY II, two dedicated beamlines are in use for their characterization with monochromatic radiation at 1 keV and a low divergence well below 2 arcsec: the X-ray Pencil Beam Facility (XPBF 1) and the X-ray Parallel Beam Facility (XPBF 2.0), where beam sizes up to 8 mm × 8 mm are available while maintaining low beam divergence. This beamline is used for characterizing mirror stacks and controlling the focusing properties of mirror modules (MMs) – consisting of four mirror stacks – during their assembly at the beamline. A movable CCD based camera system 12 m from the MM registers the direct and the reflected beams. The positioning of the detector is verified by a laser tracker. The energy-dependent reflectance in double reflection through the pores of an MM with an Ir coating was measured at the PTB four-crystal monochromator beamline in the photon energy range 1.75 keV to 10 keV, revealing the effects of the Ir M edges. The measured reflectance properties are in agreement with the design values to achieve the envisaged effective area.

Aerosol science is of utmost importance for both climate and public health research, and in recent years X-ray techniques have proven effective tools for aerosol-particle characterization. To date, such methods have often involved the study of particles collected onto a substrate, but a high photon flux may cause radiation damage to such deposited particles and volatile components can potentially react with the surrounding environment after sampling. These and many other factors make studies on collected aerosol particles challenging. Therefore, a new aerosol sample-delivery system dedicated to X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy studies of aerosol particles and gas molecules in-flight has been developed at the MAX IV Laboratory. The aerosol particles are brought from atmospheric pressure to vacuum in a continuous flow, ensuring that the sample is constantly renewed, thus avoiding radiation damage, and allowing measurements on the true unsupported aerosol. At the same time, available gas molecules can be used for energy calibration and to study gas-particle partitioning. The design features of the aerosol sample-delivery system and important information on the operation procedures are described in detail here. Furthermore, to demonstrate the experimental range of the aerosol sample-delivery system, results from aerosol particles of different shape, size and composition are presented, including inorganic atmospheric aerosols, secondary organic aerosols and engineered nanoparticles.

The paper considers the possibility of using the diamond-silicon carbide composite Skeleton® with a technological coating of polycrystalline silicon as a substrate for X-ray mirrors used with powerful synchrotron radiation sources (third+ and fourth generation). Samples were studied after polishing to provide the following surface parameters: root-mean-square flatness ≃ 50 nm, micro-roughness on the frame 2 µm × 2 µm σ ≃ 0.15 nm. The heat capacity, thermal conductivity and coefficient of linear thermal expansion were investigated. For comparison, a monocrystalline silicon sample was studied under the same conditions using the same methods. The value of the coefficient of linear thermal expansion turned out to be higher than that of monocrystalline silicon and amounted to 4.3 × 10−6 K−1, and the values of thermal conductivity (5.0 W cm−1 K−1) and heat capacity (1.2 J K−1 g−1) also exceeded the values for Si. Thermally induced deformations of both Skeleton® and monocrystalline silicon samples under irradiation with a CO2 laser beam have also been experimentally studied. Taking into account the obtained thermophysical constants, the calculation of thermally induced deformation under irradiation with hard (20 keV) X-rays showed almost three times less deformation of the Skeleton® sample than of the monocrystalline silicon sample.

Multilayer gratings are increasingly popular optical elements at X-ray beamlines, as they can provide much higher photon flux in the tender X-ray range compared with traditional single-layer coated gratings. While there are several proprietary software tools that provide the functionality to simulate the efficiencies of such gratings, until now the X-ray community has lacked an open-source alternative. Here MLgrating is presented, a program for simulating the efficiencies of both multilayer gratings and single-layer coated gratings for X-ray applications. MLgrating is benchmarked by comparing its output with that of other software tools and plans are discussed for how the program could be extended in the future.

The ability to freely control the polarization of X-rays enables measurement techniques relying on circular or linear dichroism, which have become indispensable tools for characterizing the properties of chiral molecules or magnetic structures. Therefore, the demand for polarization control in X-ray free-electron lasers is increasing to enable polarization-sensitive dynamical studies on ultrafast time scales. The soft X-ray branch Athos of SwissFEL was designed with the aim of providing freely adjustable and arbitrary polarization by building its undulator solely from modules of the novel Apple X type. In this paper, the magnetic model of the linear inclined and circular Apple X polarization schemes are studied. The polarization is characterized by measuring the angular electron emission distributions of helium for various polarizations using cold target recoil ion momentum spectroscopy. The generation of fully linear polarized light of arbitrary angle, as well as elliptical polarizations of varying degree, are demonstrated.

The Keck-PAD (pixel array detector) was developed at Cornell as a burst-rate imager capable of recording images from successive electron bunches (153 ns period) from the Advanced Photon Source (APS). Both Si and hole-collecting Schottky CdTe have been successfully bonded to this ASIC (application-specific integrated circuit) and used with this frame rate. The facility upgrades at the APS will lower the bunch period to 77 ns, which will require modifications to the Keck-PAD electronics to image properly at this reduced period. In addition, operation at high X-ray energies will require a different sensor material having a shorter charge collection time. For the target energy of 40 keV for this project, simulations have shown that electron-collecting CdTe should allow >90% charge collection within 35 ns. This collection time will be sufficient to sample the signal from one frame and prepare for the next. 750 µm-thick electron-collecting Schottky CdTe has been obtained from Acrorad and bonded to two different charge-integrating ASICs developed at Cornell, the Keck-PAD and the CU-APS-PAD. Carrier mobility has been investigated using the detector response to single X-ray bunches at the Cornell High Energy Synchrotron Source and to a pulsed optical laser. The tests indicate that the collection time will meet the requirements for 77 ns imaging.

Addressing the demand for high stability of beamline instruments at the SHINE facility, a high stability mirror regulating mechanism has been developed for mirror adjustments. Active mass damping was adopted to attenuate pitch angle vibrations of mirrors caused by structural vibrations. An internal absolute velocity feedback was used to reduce the negative impact of spillover effects and to improve performance. The experiment was conducted on a prototype structure of a mirror regulating mechanism, and results showed that the vibration RMS of the pitch angle was effectively attenuated from 47 nrad to 27 nrad above 1 Hz.

The development of hard X-ray nanoprobe techniques has given rise to a number of experimental methods, like nano-XAS, nano-XRD, nano-XRF, ptychography and tomography. Each method has its own unique data processing algorithms. With the increase in data acquisition rate, the large amount of generated data is now a big challenge to these algorithms. In this work, an intuitive, user-friendly software system is introduced to integrate and manage these algorithms; by taking advantage of the loosely coupled, component-based design approach of the system, the data processing speed of the imaging algorithm is enhanced through optimization of the parallelism efficiency. This study provides meaningful solutions to tackle complexity challenges faced in synchrotron data processing.

To date, computed tomography experiments, carried-out at synchrotron radiation facilities worldwide, pose a tremendous challenge in terms of the breadth and complexity of the experimental datasets produced. Furthermore, near real-time three-dimensional reconstruction capabilities are becoming a crucial requirement in order to perform high-quality and result-informed synchrotron imaging experiments, where a large amount of data is collected and processed within a short time window. To address these challenges, we have developed and deployed a synchrotron computed tomography framework designed to automatically process online the experimental data from the synchrotron imaging beamlines, while leveraging the high-performance computing cluster capabilities to accelerate the real-time feedback to the users on their experimental results. We have, further, integrated it within a modern unified national authentication and data management framework, which we have developed and deployed, spanning the entire data lifecycle of a large-scale scientific facility. In this study, the overall architecture, functional modules and workflow design of our synchrotron computed tomography framework are presented in detail. Moreover, the successful integration of the imaging beamlines at the Shanghai Synchrotron Radiation Facility into our scientific computing framework is also detailed, which, ultimately, resulted in accelerating and fully automating their entire data processing pipelines. In fact, when compared with the original three-dimensional tomography reconstruction approaches, the implementation of our synchrotron computed tomography framework led to an acceleration in the experimental data processing capabilities, while maintaining a high level of integration with all the beamline processing software and systems.

The reaction of ethane-1,2-di­amine (en, C2H8N2), the sodium salt of naphthalene-1,5-di­sulfonic acid (H2NDS, C10H8O6S2), and nickel sulfate in an aqueous solution resulted in the formation of the title salt, [Ni(C2H8N2)(H2O)4](C10H6O6S2)·2H2O or [Ni(en)(H2O)4](NDS)·2H2O. In the asymmetric unit, one half of an [Ni(en)(H2O)4]2+ cation and one half of an NDS2− anion, and one water mol­ecule of crystallization are present. The Ni2+ cation in the complex is positioned on a twofold rotation axis and exhibits a slight tetra­gonal distortion of the cis-NiO4N2 octa­hedron, with an Ni—N bond length of 2.0782 (16) Å, and Ni—O bond lengths of 2.1170 (13) Å and 2.0648 (14) Å. The anion is completed by inversion symmetry. In the extended structure, the cations, anions, and non-coordinating water mol­ecules are connected by inter­molecular N—H⋯O and O—H⋯O hydrogen bonding, as well as C—H⋯π inter­actions, forming a three-dimensional network.

The manganese title complex, [Mn(C7H5N2O4)2(C7H6N2O4)2(H2O)2]·2H2O, is one of the first 4-amino 3-nitro­benzoic acid (4 A3NBA) monoligand metal complexes to be synthesized. It crystallizes in the centrosymmetric monoclinic space group P21/n with the complex mol­ecules located on inversion centers. Four 4 A3NBA ligand mol­ecules are monodentately coordinated by the Mn2+ ion through the carb­oxy­lic oxygen atoms while the other two positions of the inner coordination sphere are occupied by water mol­ecules, giving rise to a distorted octa­hedron, and two water mol­ecules are in the outer coordination sphere. There are two intra­molecular hydrogen bonds in the complex mol­ecule. The first is of the common N—H⋯O=N type, while the second is a rarely occurring very strong hydrogen bond in which a common proton is shared by two uncoordinated oxygen atoms of neighboring carboxyl­ate groups. In the crystal, an intricate system of inter­molecular hydrogen bonds links the complex mol­ecules into a three-dimensional-network.

A new square-planar palladium complex salt hydrate, (C9H12NO)2[PdCl4]·0.5H2O, has been characterized. The asymmetric unit of the complex salt comprises two [PdCl4]2− dianions, four 2-hy­droxy-2,3-di­hydro-1H-inden-1-aminium cations, each derived from (1R,2S)-(+)-1-amino­indan-2-ol, and one water mol­ecule of crystallization. In the crystal, a two-dimensional layer parallel to (001) features a number of O—H⋯O, N—H⋯O, O—H⋯Cl and N—H⋯Cl hydrogen bonds.

In the title triazole-based N-heterocyclic carbene rhodium(I) cationic complex with a tetra­fluorido­borate counter-anion, [Rh(C8H12)(C8H15N3)(C18H15P)]BF4, which crystallizes with two cations and two anions in the asymmetric unit, the Rh center has a distorted square-planar coordination geometry with expected bond distances. Several nonclassical C—H⋯F hydrogen-bonding inter­actions help to consolidate the packing. Two of the F atoms of one of the anions are disordered over adjacent sites in a 0.814 (4):0.186 (4) ratio.

The structure of the title compound, [C14H18N2)2Ag2](NO3)2, contains subtle differences in ligand, metal, and counter-anion coordination. One quinoxaline ligand uses one of its quinoxaline N atoms to bond to one silver cation. That silver cation is bound to a second quinoxaline which, in turn, is bound to a second silver atom; thereby using both of its quinoxaline N atoms. A nitrate group bonds with one of its O atoms to the first silver and uses the same oxygen to bond to a silver atom (related by symmetry to the second), thereby forming an extended network. The second nitrate group on the other silver bonds via two nitrate O atoms; one silver cation therefore has a coordination number of three whereas the second has a coordination number of four. One of the quinoxaline ligands has a disordered ethyl group.

The title compound, [Ag(C15H9N3S2)2]ClO4·2CH3OH, is monoclinic. The AgI atom is coordinated by pyrido N atoms and is two-coordinate; however, the AgI atom has nearby O atoms that can be assumed to be weakly bonded – one from the perchlorate anion and one from the methanol solvate molecule. One of the thienyl groups on a 2,3-bis­(thio­phen-2-yl)pyrido[3,4-b]pyrazine is flipped disordered and was refined to occupancies of 68.4 (6) and 31.6 (6)%.

In the title compound, [Ni(C13H13N4S)2]·0.33CH3OH·0.67H2O, the NiII atom is coordinated by two tridentate quinoline-2-carboxaldehyde 4-ethyl­thio­semi­car­ba­zonate ligands in a distorted octa­hedral shape. At 100 K, the crystal symmetry is monoclinic (space group P21/n). A mixture of water and methanol crystallizes with the title complex, and one of the ethyl groups in the coordinating ligands is disordered over two positions, with an occupancy ratio of 58:42. There is inter­molecular hydrogen bonding between the solvent mol­ecules and the amine and thiol­ate groups in the ligands. No other significant inter­actions are present in the crystal packing.

The cation of the title hydrated salt, C17H17BN3+·I−·H2O, is a di­aza­borinane featuring substitution at the 1, 2, and 3 positions in the nitro­gen–boron six-membered heterocycle. The cation is approximately planar with a dihedral angle between the pyridyl ring and the di­aza­borinane ring system of 5.40 (5)°. In the crystal, the cations stack along [100] in an alternating head-to-tail manner, while the iodide ion and water mol­ecule form one-dimensional hydrogen-bonded chains beside the cation stack. The cation stacks and I−–water chains are crosslinked by N—H⋯I and N—H⋯O hydrogen bonds.

In the structure of the title complex, [Zn(C4H2FN2O2)(C10H24N4)]ClO4, the zinc(II) ion forms coordination bonds with the four nitro­gen atoms of cyclam (1,4,8,11-tetra­aza­cyclo­tetra­decane or [14]aneN4) as well as with the nitro­gen atom of a deprotonated 5-fluoro­uracil ion (FU−). Cyclam adopts a trans-I type conformation within this structure. The coordination structure of the zinc(II) ion is a square pyramid with a distorted base plane formed by the four nitro­gen atoms of the cyclam. FU− engages in inter­molecular hydrogen bonding with neighboring FU− mol­ecules and with the cyclam mol­ecule.

In the crystal structure of the title compound, {[Co(C11H9NSO5)(C10H9N3)]0.5C3H7NO·H2O}n or {[Co(dmtb)(dpa)]·0.5DMF·H2O}n (dmtb2– = 5-[(di­meth­yl­amino)­thioxometh­oxy]-1,3-benzene­dicarboxyl­ate and dpa = 4,4'-di­pyridyl­amine), an assembly of periodic [Co(C11H9NSO5)(C10H9N3)]n layers extending parallel to the bc plane is present. Each layer is constituted by distorted [CoO4N2] octa­hedra, which are connected through the μ2-coordination modes of both dmtb2– and dpa ligands. Occupationally disordered water and di­meth­yl­formamide (DMF) solvent mol­ecules are located in the voids of the network to which they are connected through hydrogen-bonding inter­actions.

The title compound, [Ir(C8H12)(C8H15N3)(C18H15P)]BF4, a new triazole-based N-heterocyclic carbene iridium(I) cationic complex with a tetra­fluorido­borate counter-anion, crystallizes with two cations and two anions in the asymmetric unit of space group Pc. The Ir centers of the cations have distorted square-planar conformations, formed by a bidentate (η2 + η2) cyclo­octa-1,5-diene (COD) ligand, an N-heterocyclic carbene and a tri­phenyl­phosphane ligand with the NHC carbon atom and P atom being cis. In the extended structure, non-classical C–H⋯F hydrogen bonds, one of which is notably short (H⋯F = 2.21 Å), link the cations and anions. The carbon atoms of one of the COD ligands are disordered over adjacent sites in a 0.62:0.38 ratio.

The title cobalt(II) complex, [Co(C2H3N)3(C9H21N3)](C24H20B)2 or [(tacn)Co(NCMe)3][BPh4]2, has been characterized by single-crystal X-ray diffraction. It incorporates the well-known macrocyclic tacn (1,4,7-trimethyl-1,4,7-tri­aza­cyclo­nona­ne) ligand, which is coordinated facially to the metal center. The complex crystallizes in space group P21/c with Z = 4. The divalent cobalt ion exhibits a six-coordinate octa­hedral geometry by one tacn and three aceto­nitrile ligands. Two non-coordinating tetra­phenyl­borate (BPh4−) anions are also present.

The inter­action between 8-hy­droxy­quinoline (8HQ, C9H7NO) and naphthalene-1,5-di­sulfonic acid (H2NDS, C10H8O6S2) in aqueous media results in the formation of the salt hydrate bis­(8-hy­droxy­quinolinium) naphthalene-1,5-di­sulfonate tetra­hydrate, 2C9H8NO+·C10H6O6S22−·4H2O. The asymmetric unit comprises one protonated 8HQ+ cation, half of an NDS2– dianion symmetrically disposed around a center of inversion, and two water mol­ecules. Within the crystal structure, these components are organized into chains along the [010] and [10overline{1}] directions through O—H⋯O and N—H⋯O hydrogen-bonding inter­actions, forming a di-periodic network parallel to (101). Additional stabilizing inter­actions such as C—H⋯O, C—H⋯π, and π–π inter­actions extend this arrangement into a tri-periodic network structure

In the title salt, [ZnCl(C23H30N4)]NO3, the central ZnII atom of the complex cation is coordinated in a square-pyramidal arrangement by four nitro­gen atoms from cyclen (1,4,7,10-tetra­aza­cyclo­dodeca­ne) in the basal plane and one chlorido ligand in the apical position. The anthracene group attached to cyclen contributes to the crystal packing through inter­molecular T-shaped π inter­actions. Additionally, the nitrate anion participates in inter­molecular N—H⋯O hydrogen bonds with cyclen.

The title compound, (C2H10N2)2[(C10H12N2O8)(MoO3)2]·4H2O, which crystallizes in the monoclinic C2/c space group, was obtained by mixing molybdenum oxide, ethyl­enedi­amine and ethyl­enedi­amine­tetra­acetic acid (H4edta) in a 2:4:1 ratio. The complex anion contains two MoO3 units bridged by an edta4− anion. The midpoint of the central C—C bond of the edta4− anion is located on a crystallographic inversion centre. The independent Mo atom is tridentately coordin­ated by a nitro­gen atom and two carboxyl­ate groups of the edta4− ligand, together with the three oxo ligands, producing a distorted octa­hedral coordination environment. In the three-dimensional supra­molecular crystal structure, the dinuclear anions, the organo­ammonium counter-ions and the solvent water mol­ecules are linked by N—H⋯Ow, N—H⋯Oedta and O—H⋯O hydrogen bonds.

A new, cationic N-heterocyclic carbene RhI complex with a tetra­fluorido­borate counter-anion, [Rh(C8H12)(C8H15N3)(C18H15P)]BF4, has been synthesized and structurally characterized. There are two independent ion pairs in the asymmetric unit. Each complex cation exhibits a distorted square-planar conformation around the RhI atom. Bond lengths and bond angles are as expected for an Rh–NHC complex. There are several close, non-standard C—H⋯F hydrogen-bonding inter­actions between the ions. One of the tetra­fluorido­borate anions shows statistical disorder of the F atoms.

In the title salt [systematic name: 4-(3-carb­oxy-1-ethyl-6-fluoro-4-oxo-1,4-di­hydro­quin­olin-7-yl)piperazin-1-ium nitrate], C16H19FN3O3+·NO3−, proton transfer from nitric acid to the N atom of the piperazine ring of norfloxacin has occurred to form a mol­ecular salt. In the extended structure, N—H⋯O hydrogen bonds link alternating cations and anions into [100] chains, which are reinforced by aromatic π–π stacking inter­actions between the quinoline moieties of the norfloxacinium cations.

In the hydrated title salt, (C10H8NO2)2[SnCl6]·2H2O, the tin(IV) atom is located about a center of inversion. In the crystal structure, the organic cation, the octa­hedral inorganic anion and the water mol­ecule of crystallization inter­act through O—H⋯O, N—H⋯O and O—H⋯Cl hydrogen bonds, supplemented by weak π–π stacking between neighboring cations, and C—Cl⋯π inter­actions.

The title structure, {[Cu(C4H11NO)3][Cu4(CN)6]·[Cu(C4H10NO)2(H2O)]·H2O}n, is made up of diperiodic honeycomb CuICN networks built from [Cu4(CN)6]2− units, together with two independent CuII complexes: six-coord­inate [Cu(CH3CH2CH(NH2)CH2OH)3]2+ cations, and five-coordinate [Cu(CH3CH2CH(NH2)CH2O)2·H2O] neutral species. The two CuII complexes are not covalently bonded to the CuICN networks. Strong O—H⋯O hydrogen bonds link the CuII complexes into pairs and the pairs are hydrogen bonded into chains along the crystallographic b axis via the hydrate water mol­ecule. In addition, O—H⋯(CN) and N—H⋯(CN) hydrogen bonds link the cations to the CuCN network. In the honeycomb polymeric moiety, all bridging cyanido ligands are disordered over two orientations, head-to-tail and tail-to-head, with occupancies for C and N atoms varying for each CN group.

The title compound, [Zn2(C6H8O4)2(C10H9N3)2]·3H2O or {Zn2[(C5H4N)2NH]2[μ-(CH2)4(COO)2]2}·3H2O, was separ­ated from the solvothermal reaction of zinc(II) sulfate hepta­hydrate, 2,2'-di­pyridyl­amine and sodium adipate. The dinuclear metal complex has a centrosymmetric structure, with the ZnII atom adopting a highly distorted octa­hedral coordination sphere composed of four oxygen atoms from bridging adipato ligands and two pyridine nitro­gen atoms. In the crystal, the title compound aggregates into a tri-periodic supra­molecular structure through inter­molecular hydrogen-bonding networks of the form O—H⋯O and N—H⋯O.

A new triazole-based N-heterocyclic carbene IrI cationic complex with a tetra­fluorido­borate counter-anion and hemi-solvating di­chloro­methane, [Ir(C8H12)(C8H15N3)(C18H15P)]BF4·0.5CH2Cl2, has been synthesized and structurally characterized. There are two independent ion pairs in the asymmetric unit and one di­chloro­methane solvent mol­ecule per two ion pairs. The cationic complex exhibits a distorted square-planar conformation around the IrI atom, formed by a bidentate cyclo­octa-1,5,diene (COD) ligand, a tri­phenyl­phosphane ligand, and an N-heterocyclic carbene (NHC). There are several close non-standard H⋯F hydrogen-bonding inter­actions that orient the tetra­fluorido­borate anions with respect to the IrI complex mol­ecules. The complex shows promising catalytic activity in transfer hydrogenation reactions. The structure was refined as a non-merohedral twin, and one of the COD mol­ecules is statistically disordered.

Beauveriolides, including the main beauveriolide I {systematic name: (3R,6S,9S,13S)-9-benzyl-13-[(2S)-hexan-2-yl]-6-methyl-3-(2-methyl­prop­yl)-1-oxa-4,7,10-tri­aza­cyclo­tridecane-2,5,8,11-tetrone, C27H41N3O5}, are a series of cyclo­depsipeptides that have shown promising results in the treatment of Alzheimer's disease and in the prevention of foam cell formation in atherosclerosis. Their crystal structure studies have been difficult due to their tiny crystal size and fibre-like morphology, until now. Recent developments in 3D electron diffraction methodology have made it possible to accurately study the crystal structures of submicron crystals by overcoming the problems of beam sensitivity and dynamical scattering. In this study, the absolute structure of beauveriolide I was determined by 3D electron diffraction. The cyclo­dep­si­peptide crystallizes in the space group I2 with lattice parameters a = 40.2744 (4), b = 5.0976 (5), c = 27.698 (4) Å and β = 105.729 (6)°. After dynamical refinement, its absolute structure was determined by comparing the R factors and calculating the z-scores of the two possible enanti­omorphs of beauveriolide I.

The coordination of hydro­tris­[3-(2-furyl)pyrazol-1-yl]borate (Tp2-Fu, C21H16BN6O3) to lan­tha­nide(III) ions is achieved for the first time with the com­plex [Ln(Tp2-Fu)2](BPh4)·xCH2Cl2 (1-Ln has Ln = Ce and x = 2; 1-Dy has Ln = Dy and x = 1). This was accom­plished via both hydrous (Ln = Ce) and anhydrous methods (Ln = Dy). When isolating the dysprosium analogue, the filtrate produced a second crop of crystals which were revealed to be the 1,2-borotropic-shifted product [Dy(κ4-Tp2-Fu)(κ5-Tp2-Fu*)](BPh4) (2) {Tp2-Fu* = hydro­bis­[3-(2-furyl)pyrazol-1-yl][5-(2-furyl)pyrazol-1-yl]borate}. We con­clude that the pres­ence of a strong Lewis acid and a sterically crowded coordination environment are contributing factors for the 1,2-borotropic shifting of scorpionate ligands in conjunction with the size of the conical angle with the scorpionate ligand.

The incommensurately modulated structure of (2S,3S)-2-amino-3-hy­droxy-3-methyl-4-phen­oxy­butanoic acid dihydrate (C11H15NO4·2H2O or I·2H2O) is described in the (3+1)-dimensional superspace group P212121(0β0)000 (β = 0.357). The loss of the three-dimensional periodicity is ascribed to the occupational modulation of one positionally disordered solvent water mol­ecule, where the two positions are related by a small translation [ca 0.666 (9) Å] and ∼168 (5)° rotation about one of its O—H bonds, with an average 0.624 (3):0.376 (3) occupancy ratio. The occupational modulation of this mol­ecule arises due to the com­petition between the different hy­dro­gen-bonding motifs associated with each position. The structure can be very well refined in the average approximation (all satellite reflections disregarded) in the space group P212121, with the water mol­ecule refined as disordered over two positions in a 0.625 (16):0.375 (16) ratio. The refinement in the commensurate threefold supercell approximation in the space group P1121 is also of high quality, with the six corresponding water mol­ecules exhibiting three different occupancy ratios averaging 0.635:0.365.

The crystal structure of the salt calcium (2R,3R)-tar­trate tetra­hydrate {sys­tem­atic name: poly[[di­aqua­[μ4-(2R,3R)-2,3-di­hydroxy­butane­dioato]calcium(II)] di­hydrate]}, {[Ca(C4H8O8)(H2O)2]·2H2O}n, is reported. The absolute configuration of the crystal was established unambiguously using anomalous dispersion effects in the diffraction patterns. High-quality data also allowed the location and free refinement of all the H atoms, and therefore to a careful analysis of the hy­dro­gen-bond inter­actions.

This article describes the High-Pressure Freezing Laboratory for Macromolecular Crystallography (HPMX) at the ESRF, and highlights new and complementary research opportunities that can be explored using this facility. The laboratory is dedicated to investigating interactions between macromolecules and gases in crystallo, and finds applications in many fields of research, including fundamental biology, biochemistry, and environmental and medical science. At present, the HPMX laboratory offers the use of different high-pressure cells adapted for helium, argon, krypton, xenon, nitrogen, oxygen, carbon dioxide and methane. Important scientific applications of high pressure to macromolecules at the HPMX include noble-gas derivatization of crystals to detect and map the internal architecture of proteins (pockets, tunnels and channels) that allows the storage and diffusion of ligands or substrates/products, the investigation of the catalytic mechanisms of gas-employing enzymes (using oxygen, carbon dioxide or methane as substrates) to possibly decipher intermediates, and studies of the conformational fluctuations or structure modifications that are necessary for proteins to function. Additionally, cryo-cooling protein crystals under high pressure (helium or argon at 2000 bar) enables the addition of cryo-protectant to be avoided and noble gases can be employed to produce derivatives for structure resolution. The high-pressure systems are designed to process crystals along a well defined pathway in the phase diagram (pressure–temperature) of the gas to cryo-cool the samples according to the three-step `soak-and-freeze method'. Firstly, crystals are soaked in a pressurized pure gas atmosphere (at 294 K) to introduce the gas and facilitate its inter­actions within the macromolecules. Samples are then flash-cooled (at 100 K) while still under pressure to cryo-trap macromolecule–gas complexation states or pressure-induced protein modifications. Finally, the samples are recovered after depressurization at cryo-temperatures. The final section of this publication presents a selection of different typical high-pressure experiments carried out at the HPMX, showing that this technique has already answered a wide range of scientific questions. It is shown that the use of different gases and pressure conditions can be used to probe various effects, such as mapping the functional internal architectures of enzymes (tunnels in the haloalkane dehalogenase DhaA) and allosteric sites on membrane-protein surfaces, the interaction of non-inert gases with proteins (oxygen in the hydrogenase ReMBH) and pressure-induced structural changes of proteins (tetramer dissociation in urate oxidase). The technique is versatile and the provision of pressure cells and their application at the HPMX is gradually being extended to address new scientific questions.

Complex I (proton-pumping NADH:ubiquinone oxidoreductase) is the first component of the mitochondrial respiratory chain. In recent years, high-resolution cryo-EM studies of complex I from various species have greatly enhanced the understanding of the structure and function of this important membrane-protein complex. Less well studied is the structural basis of complex I biogenesis. The assembly of this complex of more than 40 subunits, encoded by nuclear or mitochondrial DNA, is an intricate process that requires at least 20 different assembly factors in humans. These are proteins that are transiently associated with building blocks of the complex and are involved in the assembly process, but are not part of mature complex I. Although the assembly pathways have been studied extensively, there is limited information on the structure and molecular function of the assembly factors. Here, the insights that have been gained into the assembly process using cryo-EM are reviewed.

The widespread adoption of cryoEM technologies for structural biology has pushed the discipline to new frontiers. A significant worldwide effort has refined the single-particle analysis (SPA) workflow into a reasonably standardized procedure. Significant investments of development time have been made, particularly in sample preparation, microscope data-collection efficiency, pipeline analyses and data archiving. The widespread adoption of specific commercial microscopes, software for controlling them and best practices developed at facilities worldwide has also begun to establish a degree of standardization to data structures coming from the SPA workflow. There is opportunity to capitalize on this moment in the maturation of the field, to capture metadata from SPA experiments and correlate the metadata with experimental outcomes, which is presented here in a set of programs called EMinsight. This tool aims to prototype the framework and types of analyses that could lead to new insights into optimal microscope configurations as well as to define methods for metadata capture to assist with the archiving of cryoEM SPA data. It is also envisaged that this tool will be useful to microscope operators and facilities looking to rapidly generate reports on SPA data-collection and screening sessions.

For cryo-electron tomography (cryo-ET) of beam-sensitive biological specimens, a planar sample geometry is typically used. As the sample is tilted, the effective thickness of the sample along the direction of the electron beam increases and the signal-to-noise ratio concomitantly decreases, limiting the transfer of information at high tilt angles. In addition, the tilt range where data can be collected is limited by a combination of various sample-environment constraints, including the limited space in the objective lens pole piece and the possible use of fixed conductive braids to cool the specimen. Consequently, most tilt series are limited to a maximum of ±70°, leading to the presence of a missing wedge in Fourier space. The acquisition of cryo-ET data without a missing wedge, for example using a cylindrical sample geometry, is hence attractive for volumetric analysis of low-symmetry structures such as organelles or vesicles, lysis events, pore formation or filaments for which the missing information cannot be compensated by averaging techniques. Irrespective of the geometry, electron-beam damage to the specimen is an issue and the first images acquired will transfer more high-resolution information than those acquired last. There is also an inherent trade-off between higher sampling in Fourier space and avoiding beam damage to the sample. Finally, the necessity of using a sufficient electron fluence to align the tilt images means that this fluence needs to be fractionated across a small number of images; therefore, the order of data acquisition is also a factor to consider. Here, an n-helix tilt scheme is described and simulated which uses overlapping and interleaved tilt series to maximize the use of a pillar geometry, allowing the entire pillar volume to be reconstructed as a single unit. Three related tilt schemes are also evaluated that extend the continuous and classic dose-symmetric tilt schemes for cryo-ET to pillar samples to enable the collection of isotropic information across all spatial frequencies. A fourfold dose-symmetric scheme is proposed which provides a practical compromise between uniform information transfer and complexity of data acquisition.