Sintering in seconds, elucidated by millisecond in situ diffraction

Materials, when sintered at high temperatures, undergo structural changes on multiple, hierarchical length scales but getting realtime information on these changes is difficult. To address this challenge, we developed a custom-built sample environment that allows us to investigate the structural evolution of materials during sintering using high-energy two-dimensional synchrotron X-ray diffraction (2D-XRD). Changes in the structure of SrFeO ceramic magnet at multiple length scales were tracked in situ and modelled with millisecond time-resolution. In addition, we also demonstrated the ability to perform quantitative texture analysis from individual 2D-XRD images with a time resolution of 4 ms each. Owing to the high brightness X-ray source and advanced X-ray detectors, the evolution of crystallographic texture could be followed during sintering. This in situ approach can aid understanding of the synthesis–structure–property relationships in sintered materials, enabling the development of improved functional materials.