1. Synchrotron radiation: instrumentation in condensed matter -- 2. Nanoparticle characterization using central x-ray diffraction -- 3. X-ray diffraction for structural studies of carbon nanotubes and their insertion compounds -- 4. Dielectric relaxation and morphotropic phases in nanomaterials -- 5. Evolution of solid-state microstructures in polycrystalline materials: application of high-energy X-ray diffraction to kinetic and phase evolution studies