The stopped-drop method: a novel setup for containment-free and time-resolved measurements

Abstract

A novel setup for containment-free time-resolved experiments at a free-hanging drop is reported. Within a dead-time of 100 ms a drop of mixed reactant solutions is formed and the time evolution of a reaction can be followed from thereon by various techniques. As an example, a small-angle X-ray scattering study on the formation mechanism of EDTA-stabilized CdS both at a synchrotron and a laboratory X-ray source is presented here. While the evolution can be followed with one drop only at a synchrotron source, a stroboscopic mode with many drops is preferable for the laboratory source.