On the analysis of SAXS data from oriented 2D cylindrical mesostructures measured in symmetric reflection

In a recent paper [W. Ruland, B. Smarsly, J. Appl. Crystallogr. 38 (2005) 78], we presented an advanced method for the evaluation of SAXS data, obtained from synchrotron setups, for oriented nanoscaled cylindrical systems, in particular thin mesostructured nanocomposite films. This approach is based on the fitting of experimental data by suitable model functions and provides several structural parameters, in particular size, imperfection and preferred orientation of the 2D hexagonal lattice formed by the cylinders the radius and the polydispersity of the cylinders and the width of the interface boundary. The present work summarizes the fundamental aspects and assumptions of this approach and demonstrates the influence of the various structural parameters on scattering curves by simulated data. The method is applied to the SAXS of SiO2–surfactant nanocomposite films which contain highly oriented arrays of cylinders.