consumer_goods_hero
Consumer-products icon

Consumer products

Research Area

How we support the Consumer Products industry

Innovation and sustainability are two of the key drivers for the consumer products industry in today’s marketplace. With sustainability high on the consumer agenda, and with rising raw material, water and energy costs, the development of efficient and “green” products, packaging and processes is vital to long-term business success.

Increasing demand for product performance, product security, and shelf life make the development of innovative products and technologies vital. Innovation requires a fresh approach, a good understanding of the science behind the product or process, and access to the widest possible variety of research and development tools.

Diamond provides specialist analytical techniques for the atomic to microscale characterisation of materials ranging from personal care products, cosmetics, food and household products through to packaging and processing.

Characterisation of Formulations

  • Structural characterisation of dispersions, emulsions and partially ordered materials under controlled conditions;
  • Phase behaviour of self-assembled systems including surfactants, lipids and polymers;
  • Particle size and shape analysis (including proteins in solution);
  • Understanding structural changes associated with the use of additives e.g. rheological modifiers.

Behaviour at Interfaces

  • Surface structure and ordering in systems ranging from paints and coatings to detergents and cosmetics;
  • Understanding interfacial interactions in surfactants, polymers, and proteins at a molecular level;
  • Investigation of the thermodynamic, structural and dynamic properties of adsorbed molecular films;
  • Preferential adsorption studies.

Novel and Complex Materials

  • Structural identification and characterisation of crystalline solids under controlled environmental conditions;
  • Element selective investigation of a wide range of materials; crystalline and amorphous and at very low concentrations;
  • Element mapping to determine chemical composition of samples with very high resolution e.g. biological fibres or wheat grains. 

Packaging

  • Structure, thickness and roughness of thin films and coatings;
  • Imaging microscale features in bulk samples e.g. cracks and pores;
  • Develop novel polymer composite materials;
  • Investigate corrosion, oxidation and flow under in situ processing conditions.
Industry Research Image 1 Industry Research Image 2 Industry Research Image 3 Industry Research Image 4

Unilever - microstructure of ice cream

Researchers from the University of Manchester and Unilever used Diamond Light Source’s I13-2 beamline to study how temperature fluctuations affect the microstructure of ice cream. High-resolution X-ray tomography revealed how processing and storage conditions influence crystal and air cell formation.

Read More
More case studies

Want to know more?

Get in Touch