In-situ Powder X-ray Diffraction of Zeolitic Imidazolate Frameworks under Mechanical Impact Induced Water Intrusion

The pressurised intrusion of non-wetting liquid in nanoporous materials has emerged as a promising mechanism to yield high-performance energy absorption and impact protection. Herein we propose to use in-situ powder X-ray diffraction (PXRD) at beamline ID09 to study Zeolitic Imidazolate Frameworks (ZIFs) under high-rate water intrusion driven by mechanical impact. The aim is to determine the precise structural evolution of ZIFs and liquid molecule distribution inside, and examine any dynamic effect or intrinsic timescale that determines the energy absorption performance in practical applications.