Research Highlights

Materials

SNS Diffractometer puts the squeeze on methane hydrate cages, unraveling its high-pressure structure
(2012)
Published Work: "Cage occupancies in the high pressure structure H methane hydrate: A neutron diffraction study"
Contact: Chris Tulk
POWGEN workshop nets PhD student a paper in Journal of Solid State Chemistry
(2012)
Published Work: “Substitutions into the trigonal bipyramidal site of InGaCuO₄”
Contact: Ashfia Huq
New VULCAN tests of Japanese cable for US ITER's central magnet system
(2012)
Contact: Ke An

Neutrons Probe Inner Workings of Batteries
(2012)
Contact: Ke An
Neutrons measure phase behavior in pores at angstrom size
(2012)
Contact: Yuri Melnichenko
Special issue of journal features six neutron sciences collaborations
(2012)
Published Work: Journal of Physics: Condensed Matter 24 (6), special section on dynamic crossover phenomena in water and other glass-forming liquids
Contact: Eugene Mamontov
Between a rock and a hard place: searching for a solid that flows like a liquid
(2012)
Published Work: “Observation of a superfluid component within solid helium”
Contact: Hans Lauter
VULCAN Fires Up Research Across a Range of User Problems
The SNS engineering diffractometer, VULCAN, only recently completed commissioning, although it has been grazing across a significant range of user research in the past few months. The instrument was primarily conceived for large-scale deformation in industrial components and residual stress–related studies in welding. But the user applications have taken it across a varied field, from components for the ITER Project to the spatial mapping of the very small in chemistry and microstructure. (2011)
Ongoing research. Contact: Ke An
Memory Effect in Ferroelectric Ice
Published Work: "The existence of memory effect on hydrogen ordering in ice: The effect makes ice attractive" (2011)
Contact: Jaime A. Fernandez-Baca

Neutrons Peer Between the Sheets To Reveal Hydrogen Behavior in Minerals
Published Work: "Combined inelastic neutron scattering and solid-state density functional theory study of dynamics of hydrogen atoms in muscovite 2M1" (2011)
Contact: L'Ubomir Smrčok

A New Home for Greenhouse Gases
Researchers used small-angle, ultrasmall-angle, and quasielastic neutron scattering to assess quantitative, pore-size-specific information on the sorption and mobility of CO₂ into the microstructure of various coal types. Their experiments helped refine existing methods used for calculating sorption capacity of subsurface gas reservoirs and to improve the models used for evaluating the kinetics of methane production from coal seams.
Published Work: "Supercritical carbon dioxide behavior in porous silica aerogel" (2011)
Contact: Yuri Melnichenko

Neutron Diffraction Finds Hidden Stresses in Materials Critical for Safety, Energy, and the Environment
Researchers have used the second-generation Neutron Residual Stress Facility at HFIR, along with complementary x-ray diffraction instrumentation, to help industrial partners find out where these stresses are. Their input corrects or validates the companies' computational models so that they ultimately can make better, safer, less costly, and more efficient structural materials. (2011)
Contact: Cam Hubbard

Novel Ionic Liquid a Promising Electrolyte for Fuel Cells
Because of their unique properties, ionic liquids could have substantial scientific and commercial importance. Energy-related applications include electrolytes not only in fuel cells but also in batteries and supercapacitors, which rapidly extract current from batteries to operate electric motors. Researchers have synthesized a novel ionic liquid form that shows promise as an electrolyte in proton-conducting fuel cells. Using quasielectric neutron scattering, they studied the diffusion properties of this new liquid.
Published Work: "Microscopic diffusion dynamics of silver complex-based room temperature ionic liquids probed by quasielastic neutron scattering" (2011)
Contacts: Sheng Dai, Eugene Mamontov

Thermoelectric Materials: Recycling Energy
Thermoelectrics are adaptable for both heating and for cooling applications. These materials can convert low-grade heat that is wasted in an industrial process, or in the exhaust system of a vehicle, into electricity. Or they can transport heat from an external source of power and manipulate it to cool a surface. (2011)
Contact: Oliver Delaire