Polymer and Soft Matter Research at Diamond Light Source

Abstract

Polymer and soft matter research have played an integral part in the development of Diamond Light Source ever since the facility took its first users in 2007. Early experiments explored highly swollen cubic lipid scaffolds [Citation1] using pressure [Citation2] to elicit phase transitions and liquid-­crystal engineering [Citation3]. The facility now comprises 33 active synchrotron instruments, together with 13 electron microscopes, and other offline ­facilities. Diamond has an active polymer and soft matter science program exploring new phase space as well as many in operando studies. Later in the article, we will describe the opportunities available to this research community from the planned machine upgrade, which includes a higher-energy, lower divergence ring with better coherence [Citation4].