Impact of synchrotron X-ray radiation damage on a molecular ferroelectric crystal

Researchers investigated the impact of synchrotron X-ray radiation damage on a molecular ferroelectric crystal. The researchers investigated this issue by conducting a study on the molecular ferroelectric crystal glycinium phosphite (GPI), which had the chemical formula NH3CH2COOH·H2PO3. They performed variable-temperature single-crystal diffraction measurements in fine-temperature steps to characterize the order parameters and strains involved in the ferroelectric transition of GPI. Another strategy to investigate this issue involved the use of complementary X-ray laboratory or neutron data, where the radiation damage was substantially less than that from synchrotron sources, to disentangle the effects of radiation damage and material behavior.