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Because of their high pulse energies, X-ray free-electron lasers (FEL) allowto resolve the structure of individual nanoparticles via coherent diffractiveimaging (CDI) within a single X-ray pulse. Since the inevitable rapiddestruction of the sample limits the achievable resolution, a thoroughunderstanding of the spatiotemporal evolution of matter on the nanoscalefollowing the irradiation is crucial. We present a technique to track X-rayinduced structural changes in time and space by recording two consecutivediffraction patterns of the same single, free-flying nanoparticle, acquiredseparately on two large-area detectors opposite to each other, thus examiningboth the initial and evolved particle structure. We demonstrate the method atthe extreme ultraviolet (XUV) and soft X-ray Free-electron LASer in Hamburg(FLASH), investigating xenon clusters as model systems. By splitting a singleXUV pulse, two diffraction patterns from the same particle can be obtained. Forfocus intensities of about $2\cdot10^{12}\,\text{W/cm}^2$ we observe stilllargely intact clusters even at the longest delays of up to 650 picoseconds ofthe second pulse, indicating that in the highly absorbing systems the damageremains confined to one side of the cluster. Instead, in case of five timeshigher flux, the diffraction patterns show clear signatures of disintegration,namely increased diameters and density fluctuations in the fragmentingclusters. Future improvements to the accessible range of dynamics and timeresolution of the approach are discussed.

A two-frame movie of X-ray induced structural dynamics in single free nanoparticles