X-ray Microscopy Reveals Distinct Nanoparticle Responses To Vortex Flow

Researchers combined millisecond-resolution small-angle X-ray scattering microscopy with polarized light imaging to track nanoscale particle orientation and macroscopic Taylor–Couette flow across seven orders of magnitude in length scale. The experiments showed that platelet-like graphene oxide largely tracked the macroscopic vortex motion, while rod-like cellulose nanocrystals displayed much faster orientational behavior linked to vortex turnover.