Very low X-ray doses and photoelectrons can induce crystallisation

What is it about?

X-rays are known to be able to damage samples. That they can induce structure formation is less well known. In fact it are not the X-rays themselves but the photo-electrons they can create upon absorption. What is really disturbing is that the combination of high temperatures and a very small number of photo electrons can influence the kinetics of crystallization.

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Why is it important?

In crystallization studies using X-ray methods the X-rays are seen as a neutral probe. This manuscript shows that even very low doses of absorbed X-rays can influence the crystallization kinetics in amorphous and liquid samples.