SAXS in combination with a free liquid jet for improved time-resolved in situ studies of the nucleation and growth of nanoparticles.

A new setup for fast in situ SAXS studies of early stages in the nucleation and growth of colloidal nanoparticles is presented. Evading the disturbing influence of container walls and minimizing the possibility of beam-induced reactions, the benefits of the setup are demonstrated exemplarily for the well-known synthesis of gold nanoparticles via the Turkevich method. Analysis with the new experimental setup reveals the initial rate of particle formation, and enables analysis of particle growth rates.