{
  "abstract": "Neighboring gas bubbles in liquid foams are separated by films whose interfaces are stabilized by adsorbed amphiphilic molecules. The equilibrium thickness of these films is in the nanometer range, depending on a balance of capillary suction pressure and disjoining pressure, due to competing attractive and repulsive interactions between the interfaces. Quantitative modeling of this balance raises many open questions, calling for experiments probing the internal molecular structure of free-standing individual liquid films with a well-controlled geometry and capillary pressure. Previous small-angle x-ray reflectivity studies of such liquid films had to rely on conventional x-ray sources. Up to hundreds of repeated experiments, each lasting times of the order of an hour, were performed to accumulate statistics sufficient for resolving precisely the electron density profile in a given kind of film. Therefore, the range of explored sample compositions, temperatures, and suction pressures remained strongly limited in this pioneering work. Modern synchrotron sources offer x-ray intensities orders of magnitude beyond those of conventional sources. However, to take advantage of this, a highly stable flat soap film must be obtained, free-standing in a gas saturated with humidity, at a controlled temperature and capillary pressure. We report the construction of a setup that meets these challenging technical requirements so that we can probe soap films with thicknesses in the nanometer range using a grazing incidence x-ray beam, and determine their electron density profiles with a total acquisition time of only 20 minutes for a given sample.",
  "abstract_shown": true,
  "affiliations": [],
  "article_type": null,
  "arxiv": null,
  "author_total": 10,
  "authors": [
    {
      "name": "Mathieu Bernard"
    },
    {
      "name": "Sylvie Cohen-Addad"
    },
    {
      "name": "T El Atmani"
    },
    {
      "name": "Michel Goldmann"
    },
    {
      "name": "A Hemmerle"
    },
    {
      "name": "R Höhler"
    },
    {
      "name": "B Hosseinpour Paroshi"
    },
    {
      "name": "M Parise"
    },
    {
      "name": "O Pitois"
    },
    {
      "name": "Florence Rouyer"
    }
  ],
  "bibtex": "https://research.draconitic.com/paper/3p34ra6t59fta.bib",
  "cited_by": 0,
  "doi": null,
  "fulltext_url": null,
  "id": "3p34ra6t59fta",
  "issns": [],
  "landing_url": "https://hal.science/hal-05749599v2",
  "language": "en",
  "licence": "CC-BY-NC-ND-4.0",
  "licence_label": "CC BY-NC-ND 4.0",
  "licence_source": "article",
  "licence_url": "https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-nd/4.0/",
  "metadata_licence": null,
  "native_subjects": [
    [
      "hal",
      "0.phys"
    ]
  ],
  "openalex": null,
  "pdf_url": "https://hal.science/hal-05749599/document",
  "pmcid": null,
  "pmid": null,
  "published": "2026-09-14",
  "publisher": null,
  "ris": "https://research.draconitic.com/paper/3p34ra6t59fta.ris",
  "sources": [
    {
      "first_seen": "2026-10-30T12:17:50Z",
      "native_id": "hal-05749599",
      "source": "hal",
      "url": "https://hal.science/hal-05749599v2"
    }
  ],
  "subjects": [
    {
      "field": "physics",
      "origin": "hal:0.phys",
      "subfield": "general"
    }
  ],
  "title": "A setup for studying the molecular structure of soap films held on a thin film balance with a synchrotron x-ray source",
  "title_text": "A setup for studying the molecular structure of soap films held on a thin film balance with a synchrotron x-ray source",
  "type": "preprint",
  "updated_at": "2026-10-30T12:17:50Z",
  "url": "https://research.draconitic.com/paper/3p34ra6t59fta",
  "venue": "HAL",
  "versions": []
}