We consider a dilute ensemble of randomly-oriented noninteracting spherical nanomagnets and investigate its magnetization structure and ensuing neutron-scattering response by numerically solving the Landau-Lifshitz equation. Taking into account the isotropic exchange interaction, an external magnetic field, a uniaxial magnetic anisotropy for the particle core, and in particular the Neel...
Since water has a high impact on the chemical-physical characteristics of Ionic Liquids (IL), both as a contaminant or as cosolvent, the detailed knowledge of the intermolecular interactions in IL/water solutions is a crucial step for understanding and predicting the range of properties of these non-conventional solvents for applications in many fields including electrochemistry, biochemistry,...
To date, several materials have been proposed as hosts for the Fulde-Ferrell-Larkin-Ovchinnikov (FFLO) spatially modulated superconducting state [1], but direct experimental proof has been challenging, with only the organic superconductors providing uncontested evidence for the state [2]. The FFLO state is expected to develop at high fields and low temperatures in materials with strong Pauli...
We have extended our previous investigations on self- and collective dynamics of liquid water [1,2] to the case of tetrahydrofuran (THF). Neutron polarization analysis on a wide-angle time-of-flight spectrometer (PLET @ ISIS) has allowed measuring separately coherent and incoherent dynamic structure factor of deuterated THF with sub-meV resolution in a wide scattering vector (Q) range. The...
ORSO is a group of reflectometry scientists from across the globe that are interested in im-proving neutron and X-ray reflectometry through collaboration. The aims and focus of our working groups are arranged as follows:
• The education and outreach working group aims to develop understanding of reflec-tivity techniques and disseminate information about reflectivity analysis.
• The File...
We recently performed measurements of the neutron incoherent scattering lengths for $^{129}$Xe and $^{131}$Xe. As a part of those measurements the $\Delta b_i$ of $^3$He was also measured for a short time, only 6 hours, as a calibration. The results of this measurement indicate a very precise value could be obtained for a typical length experiment on NSE. Theories which take the data from...
The development of the Sample Environment Communication Standard and its relase is a huge achievement. Since a standard is only good if it is applied, at SINQ/PSI we are in the process to implement SECoP into the data acquisition process. Together with the Maier-Leibnitz-Zentrum Garching/Germany we developed Frappy.
Frappy is a python framework to implement a device communication and...
Technical University of Munich (TUM) is committed to convert its research neutron source Heinz Maier Leibnitz (FRM II) to a lower enriched fuel. Since 2004, TUM together with its European and International partners develops new high-density fuels and tools for reactor core modelling for the conversion of FRM II. As today, three fuel options are on the way to be qualified for conversion:...
In biological environments, proteins are exposed to polydisperse surrounding. The interaction of this environment is essential for a correct function of the cell and disfunctions may lead to diseases. To understand the diffusive properties of proteins in polydisperse environments, we performed several quasi-elastic neutron scattering (QENS) experiments. Changes in the probed short-time...
Metal organic magnets (MOM) have enormous potential to host a variety of electronic and magnetic phases that originate from a strong interplay between the spin, orbital, and lattice degrees of freedom. Due to the unique possibility of controlling interatomic distances and magnetic exchange pathways by coordination chemistry, a plethora of MOM have been reported. This way, 0D to 3D magnetic...
We have studied room-temperature neutron and X-ray crystal structures of the triosephosphate isomerase Glu97Gln variant in complex with the inhibitor 2-phosphoglycolate (PGA) that mimics a reaction intermediate. The results clearly show that Glu-167 is protonated and hydrogen bonded to the carboxylate group of the inhibitor. The other carboxylate atom of PGA forms a hydrogen bond to Lys-13,...
Measurements of the free neutron decay enable a variety of tests of the Standard Model of particle physics. Observables of the decay are, among others, the beta asymmetry $A$, the proton asymmetry $C$, and the Fierz interference term $b$. From precision measurements of $A$ the CKM matrix element $V_{ud}$ may be determined, whereas measurements of $C$ provide limits on right handed currents. A...
Proteins are biological macromolecules built from a sequence of amino acids with varying characteristics as hydrophobicity, charge and side-group that determine their biological and physical properties. Unfolded proteins, like intrinsically disordered proteins (IDPs), share similarities with polymers in structure and dynamics. For thermal unfolded Ribonuclease A or the IDP myelin basic protein...
Materials with geometrically frustrated lattice structures are highly interesting as they often exhibit unconventional phases of matter. While most research on frustrated materials has been performed on insulating spin systems, only little work has been done on magnetically frustrated metallic systems. Notably, one of the pressing question in the field is how frustrated interactions can affect...
In the superconductor Niobium the vortex-vortex interaction shows in addition to the purely repulsive also an attractive term. This leads to the formation of the intermediate mixed state (IMS) where flux-free Meissner state domains and vortex clusters coexist. Besides being a prominent example of exotic vortex matter this two-domain structure can also act as a highly tunable model system for...
Cellular membranes are essential components of cells that compartmentalize cellular events, control communication between compartments and with the exterior, enable the formation of gradients of ions and other solutes, and provide a proper environment for the large percentage of proteins that are membrane bound or associated to it1. The ability to carry out this diverse array of essential...
The High Brilliance Neutron Source (HBS) is expected to be the next-generation neutron facility, which uses low proton energy (70MeV) to achieve high neutron brilliance. As the moderator-reflector unit is correlated to the neutron moderation, reflection, and transportation, designing a suitable moderator-reflector unit is one of the important issues for achieving the “high brilliance” of the...
The Institut Laue-Langevin has been performing experiments at the cutting edge of research for more than 40 years now, in fields as varied as molecular biology, chemistry, fundamental physics, materials science and the environment. The ILL provides the scientific community with 40 high-performance instruments constantly maintained at the highest state of the art.
To exploit the full...
The syntheses of aluminum substituted strontium hexaferrite nanoparticles, SrFe12-xAlxO19 with x=0-3, via three different preparation methods were investigated: hydrothermal autoclave synthesis (AC), a citrate sol-gel synthesis (SG) and a solid-salt-matrix (SSM). Evaluation of macroscopic magnetic properties revealed that for the SG sample...
The standard project management methodologies were developed to serve a world where the business objectives are focused on financial benefit. Such methodologies with emphasis on delivering programmes and projects within the triple constrain need to be strongly adapted to the unique environment of research infrastructures (RIs). Even the definition of project, programme and portfolio needs to...
Two-dimensional van der Waals materials host a diverse landscape of optical, electronic and topologically non-trivial states in the monolayer limit and have therefore fuelled a search for the next candidate materials that may enable novel information technologies. The magnetic features can be controlled by different processes including thickness, doping and other tuning parameters. CrI3...
We present developments towards spin-selective in-situ detection of ultracold neutrons, motivated by the search for a permanent electric dipole moment. Magnetic fields generated by microstructured superconductors will produce a spin-dependent shift of the neutron-optical potential at a reflecting surface layer. Low-field-seeking neutrons then penetrate to an underlying absorber with...
In December 1997 the OSIRIS beamline at the ISIS Facility, UK, recorded its first neutron spectrum. The instrument enjoyed a first stint as a cold neutron diffractometer before the spectroscopic capabilities were fully commissioned. OSIRIS soon became a workhorse QENS spectrometer as well a highly successful cold neutron excitations spectrometer. The status of the instrument is recognized by...
The ILL Deuteration Laboratory is a platform dedicated to isotope labelling of biological molecules. More specifically, the D-Lab team members are experts in the deuteration of biomolecules for neutron applications, such as neutron scattering, protein crystallography, dynamics and reflectometry. The D-Lab is part of the ILL Life Sciences Group within the Partnership for Structural Biology...
The reflected neutron flux from state-of-the-art neutron multilayer mirrors is hampered primarily by insufficient layer definitions. To achieve the ultimate flat and abrupt interfaces (±½ atomic layer), the mirror should be made as a single crystal, artificially layered, heteroepitaxial structure (superlattice, SL). Here we explore CrBx/TiBy (0001)/Al2O3 (0001) SL mirrors, grown by magnetron...
Hybrid aerogels in general are promising scaffolds for bone regeneration owing to the high porosity, nanostructured surface and versatile functionalization of this family of sol-gel materials. Our study focuses on the design, synthesis, in-depth structural characterization and in vitro biological testing of calcium(II)-containing hybrid borosilicate aerogels. Little is known about the behavior...
We present a general classification [1, 2] to answer the question: which groups allow to describe a given magnetic, electric and toroidal polarisation mode? These three classifications are based on magnetic point groups used in two contexts: (i) the magnetic point group of the magnetic crystal class and (ii) the magnetic site symmetry point group of the Wyckoff position of interest. The...
Iron oxide nanoparticles are presently considered as promising objects for various medical applications including targeted drug delivery and magnetic hyperthermia. The nanoparticle solution in water has to posses large enough saturation magnetization to react on external magnetic field. However, there remains several unsolved questions regarding the effect of size onto nanoparticle overall...
Neutron scattering is well-suited to the study of biological membrane lipids and has the potential to contribute unique view into the role membranes play in both health and disease, as well as medical treatments, by employing deuterium labeling. However, modeling the lipid environment in living cells poses a challenge due to their complex and tightly-controlled composition. By extracting and...
T-REX is a bispectral direct geomentry neutron chopper spectrometer, currently being constructed at the ESS. The instrument is a collaboration between Forschungszentrum Jülich and Consiglio Nazionale delle Ricerche (CNR).
T-REX is a very versatile instrument and will mainly focus on probing single crystals in the scientific areas of low dimensional, topological and frustrated materials,...
At the Forschungs-Neutronenquelle Heinz Maier-Leibnitz (FRM II) of the Technical University of Munich (TUM) a new source for ultra-cold neutrons (UCN) with a solid deuterium converter is currently under construction. The source is designed to deliver UCN to four different experiments simultaneously, located in the experiment hall and neutron guide hall east of FRM II. This poster shall give an...
We present a concept of a GISANS instrument for the High Brilliance Source (HBS), a High Current Accelerator-based Neutron Source (HiCANS) using a moderate energy proton accelerator which allows very compact moderators and shielding, and flexible pulse repetition rates. The general layout resembles a classical SANS instrument with 10 m collimation and 10 m detector distance. In the beam...
The scattering of light, X-rays, electrons or neutrons by matter is used widespread for structural characterization from atomic to macroscopic length scales. With the advent of high-brilliance beam sources and the development fast, large area pixelated detectors, scattering patterns are now acquired at unprecedented frame rates and frame sizes. The slow analysis of these scattering patterns...
Owing to low density (3.8-4.0 g/cm3), high specific strength and stiffness, excellent creep resistance and good corrosion resistance, the β-solidifying γ-titanium aluminide with properly aligned (α2+γ) lamellar-structure have been considered as excellent candidates for modern turbine blades. Recently, it has been evidenced that when the γ lamellae are oriented to the load direction the...
Diffraction used in conjunction with molecular deuteration provides a model independent means to examine detailed structural and compositional information of model and real biological membranes in the lamellar phase. The technique provides specific information of localization of molecules and smaller units with respect to the unit cell. Deuteration is used to provide specific labelling and...
In 2023, the user program at SINQ, Paul Scherrer Institut (PSI), will again offer two small-angle instruments, the new SANS-LLB and as before SANS-I. SANS-LLB is the adapted and optimised PA20 SANS instrument from the Laboratoire Léon-Brillouin (LLB) that was transferred to PSI after the shutdown of the Orphée reactor in 2019 and will be operated by LLB and PSI. SANS-LLB is a general-purpose...
Bound coherent scattering lengths b(coh) are one of the basic properties of any isotope, and many experimental neutron techniques in condensed matter as well as in nuclear physics rely on these values, determined by many different scientists over decades and collected in various tables. But many of the values listed in these respectable references have large experimental uncertainties,...
CuMnSb is a half Heusler alloy which orders type-II antiferromagnetically and is, thus, unique among the 3d transitional metal heusler alloys. Theoretical calculations suggested that type-II antiferromagmetism is not the energetically favored state and is only stabilized by structural defects. Further, a high quality CuMnSb single crystal exhibits a additional phase transition within the...
The polycrystalline Ni-based superalloy VDM Alloy 780 is a further development of the Alloy 718, which is limited to around 650 °C in the operation temperature of gas turbines. The main differences between these two alloys are essentially the replacement of Fe by Co and a higher Al content in combination with a lower Ti content in VDM Alloy 780. Tensile loading and unloading experiments were...
KOMPASS is a polarized cold-neutron three axes spectrometer (TAS) currently undergoing its final construction phase at the MLZ in Garching. The instrument is designed to exclusively work with polarized neutrons and optimized for zero-field spherical neutron polarization analysis for measuring all elements of the polarization matrix. In contrast to other TASs, KOMPASS is equipped with a unique...
We present new scattering kernels for two materials of interest as cold and very cold neutron moderators: solid Methane in phases I &II and solid Ethane in phase III, based on simple models that include the main dynamical features of those three systems and the effect of spin correlations.
Inelastic neutron scattering experiments were performed using the TOSCA spectrometer at the ISIS...
Wormlike micelles may serve as a model system for linear polymers and are studied extensively. Micelles, unlike polymers, can break and reform. Their self-assembled structure makes them unique in applications where high shear rates may be encountered, such as drag reduction, and as a templates for materials synthesis. The rheological properties of viscoelastic materials can be described by the...
Proteins are complex molecular systems whose internal dynamics is
characterized by a vast spectrum of time scales, ranging from
sub-picoseconds for vibrations of chemical bonds to seconds and beyond
for large conformational rearrangements. Using a "minimalistic"
multi-time scale model for the relaxation dynamics of
proteins~[1,2], we show here that even small changes due to external...
Products derived from milk or plant based emulsions by gelation like cheese or yoghurt have a large range of structural features from atomic to macroscopic length scales. Scattering techniques with neutrons and x-rays provide an unique view into this fascinating world of interfaces and networks provided by proteins and lipids. Combining these ensemble averaging scattering techniques with a...
In this contribution, we report on neutron and synchrotron diffraction studies under mechanical stress in titanium alloys Ti-64 (near α-alloy), Ti-6246 (α+β alloy), Ti-5553 (near β-alloy) and Ti-38644 (β-alloy) to investigate the deformation mechanisms. In particular, the determination of single-crystalline elastic constants derived from the measured lattice strains in the polycrystalline...
We present a new cryomagnet development for ESS, principally for use on the MAGiC instrument, but also suitable for other diffraction instruments in the ESS suite. In order to take advantage of the large detector area and polarised beam, a very large, asymmetric, aperture has been prioritised, with a maximum field of 8 T. The bore size is 50 mm, to allow for ULT inserts and bulky samples such...
High quality gluten-free food alternatives are increasingly sort after as supplements for people requiring diets with low glycaemic indexes. The challenge to produce alternatives with high enough quality to meet consumer demands. Structure at the nanoscale is highly related to the texture, quality, mouthfeel of the final product. Here, we perform for the first time a structural...
A new methodology for the determination of self-diffusivities in solids and the corresponding activation energy of diffusion using in-situ Neutron Reflectometry is presented. In contrast to the classical ex-situ approach based on a sequence of isothermal measurements at different temperatures, the in-situ method allows one to work with a single experiment based on ramping the temperature with...
The three-axis spectrometer IN8 offers to ILL users advanced conditions for studies of thermal excitations in single crystals and liquids. The instrument performance and flexibility are ensured by the use of large double-focusing monochromators and analysers with independently variable and remotely controlled horizontal and vertical focusing (bending) of the crystal reflecting planes providing...
In frustrated magnetic systems, the competition amongst interactions can introduce extremely high degeneracy and prevent the system from readily selecting a unique ground state. In such cases, the magnetic order is often exquisitely sensitive to the balance among the interactions, allowing tuning among novel magnetically ordered phases. We present antlerite, Cu$_3$SO$_4$(OH)$_4$, as a...
Small-angle neutron scattering is a very versatile technique which can be applied in virtually any field of neutron science, be it soft matter, biological or medical sciences, material science, hard matter or magnetic materials. In all those fields, SANS helps investigate structure on the nano-scale from a few nanometers up to several hundred nanometers.
In order to achieve this, SANS has...
Microgels are stimuli responsive polymers with possible applications e.g. for drug delivery. A key feature of them is the sudden shrinkage, induced by temperature or other external parameters, called Volume Phase Transition (VPT). The VPT is intrinsically connected to the water-polymer, or more generally to the solvent-polymer interaction. PNIPAM in ethanol, e.g. remains swollen also at higher...
Neutron scattering allows for quite complicated sample environments with control over the sample conditions, such as controlled temperature, as well as the presence of strong magnetic fields.
The presence of magnets in scattering experiments necessitates a significant amount of materials in the structure. The coils of the magnets, which are not in the direct beam, add more material into the...
The free neutron decay offers an extensive test field for the Standard Model of Particle Physics. Several measurable correlation coefficients between the neutron and its main decay particles, protons and electrons, can be tested against the Standard Model description of this decay.
The PERC experiment, currently being assembled at the white neutron beam line MEPHISTO at the FRM II in...
Small-angle scattering is an increasingly common method for characterizing particle ensembles in a wide variety of sample types and for diverse areas of application. SASfit has been one of the most comprehensive and flexible curve fitting programs for decades, with many specialized tools for various fields. Here, a selection of enhancements and additions to the SASfit program are presented...
The idea of quantum spin liquid (QSL) on the triangular lattice was proposed by P. Anderson in 1973. Since his work, a lot of theoretical and experimental efforts have been made to explore deeper this state. Here we present the results for the combined study of structural and dynamic properties in application to the polycrystalline CuSb$_2$O$_6$ sample. The diffraction experiments using both...
Neutron reflectometry is used by a wide community of scientific groups addressing questions in many different fields, including materials science, magnetism, polymer physics and biophysics. The analysis of reflectivity data from instruments around the world is traditionally performed either with computer programs that use a graphical user interface for building simple slab models of the...
The HBS is a high brilliance accelerator driven neutron source currently in the design process. It provides different target stations that follow the same duty cycle but offer different frequencies and pulse length. Cold and thermal moderators are used to adjust the neutron spectrum. The target stations with its moderators thus allow choosing the parameters best fitting to an instrument or...
The sol-gel auto-combustion method and the sonochemical co-precipitation method were used to prepare Ba0.5Sr1.5Zn2Fe12O22 (S1) and partially Al substituted Ba0.5Sr1.5Zn2Al0.08Fe11.92O22 (S2) powders. The XRD analyses show that the samples are single-phase Y-type hexaferrite. SEM images of the S1 sample obtained by auto-combustion revealed particles of a very non-uniform shape and...
H2V3O8 (HVO) is a promising high-capacity cathode material for lithium-ion batteries (LIB). It allows reversible two-electron transfer during electrochemical lithium cycling processes, yielding a very attractive theoretical capacity of 378 mAh g–1. Aimed at providing insights into the lithium storage behavior of HVO, we employed a combination of high-resolution synchrotron X-ray and neutron...
Additive Manufacturing (AM) has become a viable manufacturing technique, because of its remarkable ability to manufacture parts with intricate shapes and superior mechanical properties. Wire laser additive manufacturing (WLAM) is a kind of Direct Energy Deposition (DED) technology where a wire is fed through a nozzle and deposited onto a substrate or an existing part and is melted by focussing...
In the evaluation of capability gaps in the initial instrument suite, the European Spallation Source (ESS) has identified a dedicated surface scattering beamline as a high priority for the next phase of instruments. Therefore, a wide consortium, building on the strength in surface and interface science in Sweden, has formed to push for a project to design and construct such an instrument at...
Single chain nanoparticles (SCNPs) are unimolecular polymer chains folded or collapsed via intra-molecular cross-linking under high dilution, leading to sparse conformations and a topological polydispersity similar to that of intrinsically disordered proteins (IDPs). Currently, there is great interest in expanding this technology to biodegradable and biocompatible polymers, including proteins....
ISIS Neutron and Muon Source is now seeking its next phase of new instruments and significant upgrades to existing instruments: a portfolio of projects that has been called the Endeavour Programme. Endeavour will increase both capacity and capability of the facility to address 21st century challenges and enable research in areas such as advanced materials and manufacturing, clean energy...
The octahedrally and tetrahedrally coordinated Fe3+ (S=5/2) ions in Bi2Fe4O9 form a quasi two-dimensional Cairo pentagonal lattice (Pbam). Combined with predominantly antiferromagnetic interactions, this leads to a strong frustration with Tn=245 K while θCW=1670 K in a fairly unexplored geometry. The magnetic structure for T < Tn can be indexed with k=(½, ½, ½) with a noncollinear magnetic...
Apart from fission and spallation, neutrons can also be generated by nuclear reactions induced by protons in the MeV range. This is now applied in High-Current Accelerator-driven Neutron Sources (HiCANS), which are able to reach performances like medium sized reactor or spallation sources. One of these projects is the High Brilliance neutron Source (HBS) at Forschungszentrum Jülich, which is...
With the transformative development of event-based detectors, new perspectives for detection systems for various types of radiation were opened up. A recently developed event-driven imaging system based on Timepix3 sensor technology is capable of observing and time-stamping the optical signal induced by particle interactions in scintillator materials with nanosecond temporal and micrometer...
The HBS project for a High Current Accelerator-based Neutron Source (HiCANS) uses a pulsed proton beam of 70 MeV energy and 100 kW of time-averaged power for each target station. With the benefit of the time structure, a low background, and flexible, high brilliance moderator set-ups, the instruments at the HBS are expected to be very competitive to existing state-of-the-art scattering...
Spin and charge stripe correlations and their dynamics have been well explored in the ordered state of La-based 214-nickelates for last 3 decades. Recently, we have also explored magnetic excitations in the ordered spin-stipes phases of hole-doped Pr-based nickelates Pr$_{2-x}$NiSrO$_{4+\delta}$ [1-3]. In this regards, what remains less explored is the fluctuating state of the spin stripes...
Neutron and X-ray scattering are well-established techniques to understand the material structure and different phenomena within the systems. However, the structure can not be uniquely determined from the scattering experiments due to the phase problem, i.e. two different structures can yield the same scattering curve. Also, it is important to explain the reasons behind the phenomena observed...
Spin caloritronic materials are currently in the spotlight due to their potential exploitation in the next generation of spintronics applications. Composite systems, consisting of magnetic-insulator (MI) and heavy-metal (HM) bilayers, combine both spintronic and thermoelectric functionalities by interconversion of charge-, spin-, and heat-currents. A prominent example are devices exploiting...
The use of polarized neutrons is very important to cover new science cases and polarized neutrons. Polarized neutrons will be made available on many European Spallation Source (ESS) instruments. There are a number of technologies available for polarizers and polarization analyzers, among them polarizing supermirror and polarized 3He, which will both be used at the ESS. The selection of the...
We report on the results of powder neutron diffraction of Ni$_2$V$_2$O$_7$. Two crystallographic Ni$^{2+}$-ion sites carrying spin-1 exist. Magnetic phase transitions occur at $T_{\rm N1} = 6.7$ and $T_{\rm N2} = 5.7$ K. A 1/2 quantum magnetization plateau appears between 8 and 30 T at 2 K.
We carried out neutron diffraction experiments at 0 T using the HRPT diffractometer at PSI. The...
The MIEZE (Modulated IntEnsity with Zero Effort) resonant spin-echo technique at the RESEDA instrument at FRM II has its optimum resolution at small scattering angles, i.e. SANS type geometries. Recent upgrades (MIASANS) have further increased the resolution in the small angle regime. Going forward, there is the possibility [1] to extend the optimum MIEZE resolution to wide angles by...
Neutron Spin Echo (NSE) spectroscopy uses polarized neutrons; however, it was never used for performing polarization analysis at the same time, which can offer a very promising extension. In NSE experiments one requires a polarizer for preparing the precessing polarization of the incoming neutron beam and a polarization analyzer for observing the precessing polarization of the scattered beam. ...
Complementary use of scattering methods and molecular dynamics (MD) makes it possible to elucidate structural details of complex molecular systems such as biological or electrochemical interfaces.
Although several softwares aiming at some of the tasks involved in the process have been described in the past, an easy to use, well documented and tested, fully FOSS, solution was lacking.
In this...
Co-assembly of oppositely charged polyelectrolytes with proteins is a well-studied approach for designing stimuli-responsive nanocarriers for targeted drug delivery. [1,2] However, the complexity of protein structure limits the ability to predict and tune properties of the formed nanoparticles. The ultimate goal of our research is to reveal the main triggers for the morphological transition of...
Superalloys are key materials of our modern society. They are not only used in harsh environments of power plants for energy conversion but also in aerospace or marine applications, as they combine excellent mechanical properties at high homologous temperatures with very good oxidation and corrosion resistance. To further improve the efficiency of engines, advanced superalloys with improved...
Neutron Depth Profiling (NDP) is a non-destructive, element-specific, high-resolution nuclear analytical technique, which is often used to probe concentration profiles of lithium, boron, nitrogen, helium and several other light elements in different host materials. The N4DP instrument is located at the Prompt Gamma Activation Analysis (PGAA) beam line of Heinz Maier-Leibnitz Zentrum (MLZ),...
Deuterated samples are used in neutron scattering to investigate the dynamics of hydrogen atoms by contrast matching, due to the low incoherent and high coherent cross-sections of deuterium. The use of fully deuterated proteins has been restricted so far to the study of light hydration water or the collective dynamics of proteins in D_2 O.
In order to study kinetic isotope effects of the...
Texture analysis by means of non-destructive, diffraction methods offers the statistical access to the orientation space of crystalline building blocks on microstructural level in materials characterization. Depending on the combination of the investigated material and incident type of radiation, the necessary diffraction signal can be detected from different depth and volumes of a sample....
Sugar-based surfactants offers an appealing and environmentally friendly alternative to traditional surfactants but can also offer new functionality in applications. The interfacial behaviour of sugar-based surfactants will be discussed in relation to their solution behaviour. Here, the adsorption behaviour of the α- and β-anomer of hexadecylmaltoside (α-C16G2 and β-C16G2) at the solid-liquid...
The Rouse dynamics of polymer chains in model nanocomposite PolyEthylene Oxide (PEO)/Silica NanoParticles (NPs) was investigated using QuasiElastic Neutron Scattering (QENS). The fraction of segments immobile on the picosecond/nanosecond timescale, as they are adsorbed on the NP surface, was identified. The Rouse rate of the remaining polymer chains decreases as the particle loading increases....
Neutron single crystal diffraction provides an experimental method for the direct location of hydrogen and deuterium atoms in biological macromolecules. At the FRM II neutron source the neutron single crystal diffractometer BIODIFF, a joint project of the Forschungszentrum Jülich and the FRM II, is mainly dedicated to the structure determination of enzymes. Typical scientific questions address...
Carbon based polymer nanocomposites have many useful applications and the change in the physical properties of the modified composite from that of the raw polymer is of significant importance. In this presentation I will discuss a series of polymer-carbon composites (graphene oxide, carbon black, carbon nanoparticles) measured using both SANS and SESANS and apply a number of different...
Neutrons are powerful and have unique characteristics, which make possible non-destructive and operando characterizations of cylindrical and prismatic Li-ion batteries. X-rays are an equally competent tool that can provide complementary information on pouch type Li-ion cells during cell operation. Expectedly, both are also capable of providing information at material and electrode level. This...
The Laboratoire Léon Brillouin is currently evaluating the use of High brilliance Compact Accelerator-driven Neutron Sources (HiCANS) to provide the French neutron scattering community with a suite of world-class instruments. For that purpose, the performances of neutron scattering instruments around this novel type of sources must be evaluated. HERMES is a time-of-flight horizontal...
We will present how the data storage and processing landscape at MLZ will evolve in the of DAPHNE4NFDI and ERUM.
TOSCA is a high-resolution, broad band, indirect geometry chemical spectrometer operated at the ISIS Neutron and Muon Source, UK. As a neutron analogue to optical spectroscopy, it is optimised for the study of molecular vibrations in fields such as catalysis, hydrogen storage materials, hydrogen bonded systems, or biological and organic compounds. We present the detailed design and performance...
Neutron grating interferometers can be employed as powerful tools to perform high-precision measurements of deflection angles and scattering. A novel concept of a symmetric Talbot-Lau interferometer using three identical absorption gratings in a time-of-flight mode is under development at the University of Bern. The ultimate goal of this project is to conduct a sensitive measurement of the...
During electrochemical cycling of lithium-ion batteries, ionic and electron transfer occur simultaneous, i.e. lithium ions and electrons are exchanged between positive and negative electrodes. Besides the materials properties, such an exchange is influenced by cell characteristics, such as electrode dimensions and geometry, current density, temperature, pressure, reaction rate etc. In cell...
Photosystems I (PSI) and II (PSII) are pigment-protein complexes capable of performing the light-induced charge separation necessary to convert solar energy into a biochemically storable form, an essential step in photosynthesis. Small-angle neutron scattering (SANS) is unique in providing structural information on PSI and PSII in solution under nearly physiological conditions without the need...
The SORGENTINA-RF project is presented in terms of general structure and description of the main tasks and activities to be carried out. It is devoted to the design and development of a medium power 14 MeV fusion neutron source relying on a rotating target and a deuterium/tritium ion accelerator. The main focus of the neutron facility is the production of radiopharmaceutical precursors, in...
KWS-3 is a very small angle neutron scattering diffractometer operated by JCNS at Heinz Maier-Leibnitz Zentrum (MLZ) in Garching, Germany. The principle of this instrument is one-to-one imaging of an entrance aperture onto a 2D position sensitive detector by neutron reflection from a double-focusing toroidal mirror. In current state, KWS-3 is covering Q-range between 3·10-5 and 2·10-2 Å-1 and...
The introduction of the topology concept has revolutionized modern solid-state research by offering new materials with such key functionality as the topological Hall effect and high charge carrier mobility useful in quantum computing.
$Ln$SbTe ($Ln$ – lanthanides) materials are one of the families extensively discussed as hosts of Dirac nodal lines, i.e., topological features in reciprocal...
The structural and electronic properties of the rutile-type oxide beta-PbO2 (plattnerite) are studied by neutron and synchrotron radiation powder diffraction and first-principles density functional theory (DFT) calculations~[1]. The motivation to study the electronic properties of beta-PbO2 gained some additional impact related to the possible existence of topologically nontrivial [2,3]...
Using the selectivity of the crystalline $\delta$-form for hydrocarbon solvents, a controlled functionalization by sulfonation of the semi-crystalline syndiotactic polystyrene (sPS) films can be achieved when large sulfonation agents such as lauroyl sulfate in chloroform solution are used, which provides homogeneous sulfonation of only of the phenyl rings in the amorphous region without...
The structure and dynamics of water in all its possible states has been investigated and simulated extensively in the past with multiple methods. Experiments have been conducted on a molecular level with neutron and X-ray scattering techniques; molecular dynamics (MD) computer simulations are also widely used for the study of water and solvated molecules. In our work we connect experimental...
The Prompt Gamma Activation Analysis instrument is located at the strongest cold neutron beam at MLZ. The samples can be irradiated in vacuum, using the highest flux, their masses can be less than a milligram. The emitted prompt gamma radiation is detected using high-purity germanium detectors. PGAA is typically used for the determination of light elements, it is unique for H (also in...
Nowadays, in neutron time of flight measurements, there are experimental setups in which many detectors record data during a single experiment. It is usually desirable to be able to sum several spectra in order to increase counting statistics, and therefore decrease uncertainties, for further analysis. A problem arises in time-of-flight experiments when the available spectra are acquired with...
Extracellular vesicles (EV) are a potent intercellular communication system, delivering proteins and genetic material throughout the body, strongly influencing the fate of recipient cells. Due to their specific biological functions and to their peculiar molecular content they have been proposed as biomarkers for various diseases and as optimal candidates for therapeutic applications. Despite...
Cellulose nanofibrils (CNFs) are widely used due to their attractive properties such as low density, lightweight, thermal stability, and good mechanical properties. These prerequisites make cellulose nanofibrils a promising template material for the design of hybrid colloid-bio composites and bio-inspired functional coatings. Latex colloids are excellently suited to be incorporated in...
Microstructure of engineering alloys is strongly connected with their mechanical properties such as hardness or ductility. Usually conventional methods of electronic microscopy are used for assessing morphological characteristics of the precipitates. However, in some cases the small-angle neutron scattering (SANS) technique can be more efficient due to unique properties of neutrons such as law...
The integration of the nanoparticles with proteins has a prime interest in the field of nanobiotechnology where these complexes are aimed to utilize for different applications such as targeted drug delivery, biosensing, etc [1]. The protein adsorption on nanoparticles is governed by several interactions such as hydrogen bonding, electrostatic complexion, hydrophobic attraction. Herein, the...
Mapping of residual stresses in polycrystalline materials by neutron diffraction employs relatively large sampling volumes, which helps to smooth out stochastic noise due to limited number of contributing grains, but also causes a number of undesired effects commonly called as pseudo-strains. These include smearing of measured strain distributions, as well as false strains observed due to...
In the absence of available beam time at FRM II, we invested time to downscale detectors, computed tomography equipment and software used at the ANTARES neutron imaging facility to small, compact and portable versions that can be used at smaller low-power reactors where classic scattering experiments often cannot be performed due to lack of intensity.
CT setups including experiment controls...
The High Brilliance Neutron Source (HBS) project aims to develop a High-Current Accelerator-driven Neutron Source (HiCANS) for neutron scattering, analytics, and imaging. Amongst the instruments planned at HBS, there will be at least 5 different neutron imaging instruments to cover the different neutron energy ranges: cold, Bragg edge, thermal, resonance/epithermal, and fast.
Each one of...
In the emerging field of organic photovoltaics, donor - acceptor bulk heterojunctions are often used as active materials due to their superior performance compared to e.g. planar layered devices. In this optically active polymer layer, photons are absorbed and free charges are created.
A frequently applied and well-studied system is the combination of PTB7 as electron donor and PCBM as...
The great interest of researchers over the past years has been caused by multiferroics - materials in which magnetic and electric dipole ordering are simultaneously observed. One of the typical representatives of this class of compounds is the complex oxides of the manganese of the BiMnO3 with a structure of perovskite type. The magnetic properties of the compound are determined by positive...
Neutron reflectometry (NR) is an ideal tool for studying biological membrane models, and many different models, mimicking bacterial and mammalian cells have been developed in recent years. Often, the focus of such NR studies is on the interaction of various molecules, e.g. proteins, polymers, peptides etc with the membrane model. Another interesting use of such models is the characterisation...
A Quenching and Deformation Dilatometer (TA instruments DIL805A/D/T) operates at the MLZ for performing in-situ neutron diffraction (phase, texture, stress/strain) at STRESS-SPEC and small-angle neutron scattering (nanostructure) at SANS-1. Imaging applications are under preparation at ANTARES. With this setup, the evolution of the sample length during heating or quenching can be accurately...
In 2022, the neutron guide upgrade program at PSI was used to replace the old guide of the neutron reflectometer Amor by a full-scale Selene optics. In this context also a new polariser and a high-resolution detector were installed, and since then also the chopper and instrument electronics have been replaced.
The Selene optics essentially consists of 2 subsequent elliptic reflectors...
We report a combined experimental and theoretical study of zone-boundary magnons in Cu2OSeO3 under magnetic field. High-resolution data were recorded at the triple-axis spectrometers Thales and IN8 at the ILL. As our main result we found a strong magnetic-field dependence of the zone-boundary magnons. We discuss our results in terms of theoretical modelling elucidating putative band-sticking...
Small-Angle-Neutron-Scattering (SANS) and Grazing-Incidence-SANS (GISANS) techniques have seen a remarkable growth in their application in studies of magnetic materials. In combination with neutron polarization analysis, SANS and GISANS offer magnetic vector analysis on the micro- and mesoscopic length scale with high signal to noise ratio. However, in multiple sample environments like applied...
BornAgain is an open-source software package to model and fit SAS, GISAS, and reflectometry. It has been designed to fully reproduce the functionality of the standard software IsGISAXS, allow for hierarchical sample models of arbitrary complexity, in particular, support multilayers with arbitrary inclusions that may extend across layers, support neutron polarization and magnetic scattering,...
Single crystals of the triangular lattice antiferromagnet (TLAF) Ca$_3$NiNb$_2$O$_9$ and its non-magnetic analogue Ca$_3$MgNb$_2$O$_9$ are grown using the four-mirror optical float-zone furnace. During the growth of Ca$_3$NiNb$_2$O$_9$, the crystal boule tends to develop cracks upon cooling due to a high-temperature structural modification. Thus, depending on the growth conditions, the crystal...
ODIN is the ESS state-of-the-art multipurpose neutron imaging instrument. Using wavelength-resolved imaging with tunable medium to high wavelength resolution, ODIN will provide significantly increased chemical and structural sensitivity compared to other traditional neutron imaging instruments, with fixed (or absent) wavelength resolutions. ODIN will view both the cold and the thermal...
The role of charge stripes in cuprate superconductors is not yet understood. The undoped cuprates are antiferromagnetic Mott insulators. A simple model is that doping disrupts the AFM order and the introduced holes form stripes, with the periodicity and values of charge stripes affected by dopant concentration $x$ [1,2]. There is competition between different forms of charge and magnetic...
There are several approaches to the analysis of contrast variation data in small-angle neutron scattering (SANS) when the solvent scattering length density (SLD) is manipulated by H/D substitution. There are specific points at which the scattering intensity from the liquid system is independent of the SLD contrast between dispersed particles and dispersing media. These points, q*, are...
The kagome ice state is a two dimensional critical state of algebraic spin correlations formed by the application of a moderate magnetic field along the cubic [111] direction of a pyrochlore spin ice. Tilts of the field away from perfect alignment allow for tuning of these algebraic correlations by variations of tilt angles, field or temperature, leading to symmetry-sustaining Kasteleyn...
Poster Abstract
The newly developed Polyion complex (PIC) micelles have unparalleled significance in the construction of functionalized and ordered mesoporous materials. MesoPIC micelles are fabricated through the electrostatic complexation between a charged double hydrophilic block
copolymer (DHBC) and an oppositely charged polyelectrolyte. The formation and deformation of these micelles...
Accurate conversion of neutron time-of-flight (TOF) to wavelength is of fundamental importance to neutron scattering measurements in order to ensure the accuracy of the instruments and the experimental results. Equally important in these measurements is the determination of uncertainties, and with the appropriate precision. Especially in cases where instruments are highly configurable, the...
Multianionic compounds containing hydrides built a large variety of compounds, e. g. hydride fluorides, hydride oxides or hydride nitrides, which can act as functional materials such as hydride ionic conductors or host lattices for Eu2+ luminescence.[1] On the other hand, the compound class of nitridoborate hydrides is with only two known compounds, namely Ca2BN2H and Sr2BN2H, only little...
The modulation of thermoresponsive behavior of PNIPAM (or PNIPMAM) in aqueous solution has been widely studied by varying temperature, solvent composition, and salt concentration, which causes significant conformational changes between extended or collapsed chains via absorption or release of water. However, rare studies report on the salt effects on its block copolymer containing the...
The interplay of ferromagnetic exchange, Dzyaloshinsky-Moriya interaction and crystal potential results in the complex phase diagram of the chiral magnet MnSi ($T_C$ ≈ 30 K). In Mn$_{1-x}$Fe$_x$Si, long-range magnetic order is suppressed and helimagnetic correlations vanish at $x$ ≈ 0.2 along with a redistribution of d states at the Fermi energy.
Here, we present a study of the lattice...
S addition enables bulk metallic glass formation in Ti-based systems. To understand the role of S on glass formation, we analyzed the melt dynamics and the melt structure in Ti75Ni25-xSx (x = 0, 5, 8, 11). To process these reactive Ti-based melts, we applied containerless methods as electromagnetic and electrostatic levitation. The microscopic melt dynamics (self-diffusion) were studied by...
Prohibitins (PHB1 and PHB2) are highly conserved heterodimeric proteins arranging into a large multimeric ring at the inner mitochondrial membrane. They play a crucial role in premature cellular aging, tumor suppression, cell cycle regulation, apoptosis and mitochondrial homeostasis via their interaction with AAA-proteases. We set out to (i) characterize the interaction between the N-terminal...
We will discuss the different new sample environment at the cold neutron chopper spectromenter TOFTOF. For expample the combination of in-situ Raman and neutron spectroscopy is very powerful in order to investigate the molecular dynamics and chemical reactions inside a sampleat the same time. For this purpose we will introduce our new sample environments to combine quasi elastic (QENS) and...
Neutron scattering methods enable a broad range of material studies that are difficult to carry out with other experimental methods. One specific example is the study of soft condensed matter, which includes polymeric systems. Under certain temperatures and concentrations, these polymers may crystallize into crystalline structures. This results in interesting viscoelastic properties of the...
The distributions of dPS in PLs // can be probed by grazing-incidence small-angle neutron scattering (GISANS) and time-of-flight neutron reflectivity (ToF-NR). In this work, by adjusting the composition (ɸPS+dPS = 63.8 vol%) of the total PS/dPS component and annealing temperature (230 and 270 °C), P(S-b-MMA)/dPS blend films mainly form perforated layers with parallel orientation (hereafter PLs...
Pyrochlore antiferromagnets (AFM) Gd2T2O7 (T: tetravalent metal elements) are prototypical materials for realizing classical spin liquid states. However, all of them have been observed to show long-range magnetic order [1-3]. Previous specific heat data of Gd2Hf2O7 show a tiny sharp peak on the top of a large broad maximum indicating a long-range AFM order [4]. However, our sample does not...
We present neutron diffraction measurements on newly synthesized dipole-octupole pyrochlore Ce$_2$Sn$_2$O$_7$ powders grown by hydrothermal methods. We find a diffuse signal at low scattering vectors, reminiscent of a dipolar spin ice, in striking contrast to previous neutron diffraction on powder Ce$_2$Sn$_2$O$_7$ samples grown by solid-state synthesis, which found diffuse scattering at...
Historically, two methods are used to determine the wavelength of neutrons: one is a time-of-flight method separating the velocity of pulsed neutrons by the flight time, and the other is a method utilizing Bragg reflection by a monochromator such as a single crystal and multilayer mirror. The former cannot be applied for electromagnetic waves because the light velocity is constant and...
Neutron moderators come in many forms and sizes with water (H2O), methane (CH4) and molecular hydrogen (H2) being the most commonly used moderating materials. These materials have very good neutron moderating characteristics but serious disadvantages as well. As a result, the active search for a new types of moderator materials, and especially cryogenic moderator materials, is underway around...
The lower critical solution temperature (LCST) polymers have attracted great interest in the biomedical sectors, as they are water-soluble at room temperature, while they can form a gel at body temperature. Under the appropriate conditions, thermoresponsive polymers may form a 3D network, namely a thermoresponsive gel [1] with the mechanical properties in the gel state strongly depending on...
Presented three-axis neutron diffractometer setting documents the feasibility of using it in special cases high-resolution powder diffraction studies, namely, for thermomechanical (elastic and/or) plastic deformation studies of bulk polycrystalline samples when the whole powder diffraction spectrum is not required. Contrary to the conventional double-axis setting the suggested alternative...
ISIS deutertion laboratory has made significant contributions to the DEUNET collaboration and will further develop it's capabilities in both chemical and biological deuteration. This will in turn help deliver a roadmap for deuteration within the LENS vision.
