In situ X-ray diffraction has been used to investigate goethite-seeded Al(OH)₃ precipitation from synthetic Bayer liquor at 343 K. Rietveld-based quantitative phase analysis has allowed for the determination of the absolute phase abundances of the precipitated phases and for the determination of kinetic information.

A deep neural network approach to the identification and quantification of powder X-ray diffraction patterns was applied and proved successful for the quantitative description of complex mineralogical assemblages consisting of up to four minerals with different structures, including different space groups, for which data augmentation is not straightforward.

The effect of particle size and heating rate on the transformation sequences of gibbsite to α-Al₂O₃ has been studied using coarse-grained C31 hydrate and fine-grained Hydral 710.

X-ray absorption near-edge structure (XANES) spectroscopy has been used to examine forms of aluminium (Al) in plants, with K-edge XANES suitable for identifying tetrahedrally and octahedrally coordinated Al. However, the poorer detection limit of L-edge XANES limits its use for plant tissues but, nevertheless, XANES analyses of Al in plants are of value where Al forms differ markedly.

The use of convolutional neural networks can revolutionize XRD analysis by significantly reducing processing times. Demonstration against synthetic and real mineral mixture data provide a first assessment of the accuracy of such methods.

Novel double transition-metal phosphates, Na₂NiCu(PO₄)₂ and Mn₂Cu(PO₄)₂, with a rare combination of Ni/Cu and Mn/Cu metal atoms, synthesized hydro­thermally and studied by single-crystal X-ray diffraction, are discussed as potential magnetic materials.

QUALX2.0 is the new version of QUALX. The main novelty of QUALX2.0 is the possibility of querying also a freely available database, POW_COD, built up by starting from the structural information contained in the Crystallography Open Database.

A U L_III-edge X-ray absorption spectroscopic investigation of U^VI interactions with minor cement minerals, ettringite and hydro­talcite, is reported. The study is supplemented by ²⁷Al magic angle scattering nuclear magnetic resonance spectroscopy, X-ray diffraction and geochemical modelling.

Neutron and X-ray reflectivity, as well as small-angle scattering, are used to probe the in-plane and surface-normal structure of anodized aluminium. A new low-voltage anodization protocol gives smooth anodic films on aluminium, suitable for investigation by neutron and X-ray reflectivity.