Cerdanyola del Vallès, 4 june 2021. Materials such as cements, concretes, pigments, or ceramics are fully integrated into our daily lives, covering a double mission: structural and decorative. The knowledge and control of their physical and chemical properties together with their manufacturing processes can directly affect their performance.
On 16 May, around 40 people attended the industrial webinar organized by the ALBA Synchrotron. There, they were able to find out the main advantages of using synchrotron light for analyzing these materials: faster experiments, more flexibility in the experimental conditions, lower detection levels and higher resolution, among others. The exclusive information obtained with the ALBA techniques can pave the way for innovative materials or manufacturing processes.
The event was started by Caterina Biscari, director of the ALBA Synchrotron. During the webinar, Alejandro Sánchez, director of the ALBA Industrial Office, explained what a synchrotron is, how the private companies can have access to the ALBA services and presented to the audience different European Union projects (CALIPSOplus, LEAPS-INNOV, Sylinda…) that promote and support the engagement of these type of research infrastructures with industry. After this introduction to the ALBA synchrotron and services, the attendees had the opportunity to see specific examples of applications of synchrotron light in cements, pigments and ceramics: the first talk was given by Miguel Ángel García Aranda, professor at the University of Málaga, ALBA collaborator and expert in the field of cements, who illustrated with several examples the main synchrotron techniques that can be used for the characterization of these type of materials: X-ray Absorption Spectroscopy, High-Resolution powder Diffraction and Grazing-Incident Small Angle X-ray Scattering. In addition, two world-wide leader companies that already used the ALBA techniques shared their experience with the audience: first, Pere Borralleras, technical marketing manager in Master Builders Solutions, presented different examples and projects and the different motivation to use synchrotron techniques: “we used the ALBA techniques for several reasons depending on the project needs: to improve the products, to deepen the knowledge on for marketing strategies”, said Pere. Finally, Jordi Fernández, ultramarines R+D manager in Ferro, showed several studies performed at ALBA with their pigments and emphasized how the ALBA-FERRO collaboration was established. The webinar ended in a lively session where open comments and questions from the audience were addressed.
