Recent developments in polymer applications of synchrotron small-angle X-ray scattering

Synchrotron radiation facilities have been established and become very familiar in the polymer community not only from academic but also industrial viewpoints. It is not so unusual now to conduct simultaneous measurements of small-angle X-ray scattering (SAXS) with other techniques such as wide-angle X-ray scattering, stress-strain, light scattering, and so forth. New techniques have also been established and have become more familiar in recent years. In this review, recent developments in polymer applications of synchrotron SAXS are summarized. Instrumental developments and progress in data analyses are reviewed from the following aspects: ultra-small-angle X-ray scattering, anomalous SAXS, X-ray photon correlation spectroscopy, new types of simultaneous measurements, grazing-incidence SAXS, new trends in nanoparticle analyses and industrial applications. (c) 2016 Society of Chemical Industry