Neutron scattering studies of minerals and ceramics
Neutron scattering techniques, diffraction and spectroscopy, play a
large role in our work. Most of these studies are carried out on the
ISIS pulsed spallation source and the
reactor source at Chalk River, Canada. Neutron scattering is a useful
probe of condensed matter for a number of reasons, including the ability
to measure both structure and dynamics, the scattering lengths are different
between neutrons and X-rays, and neutrons are particularly sensitive to
hydrogen.
Specifically, our studies have included:
- High-resolution powder diffraction for Rietveld refinement of
structures
- Inelastic spectroscopy using powdered samples for measurements of
phonon density of states, as in our work on the low-energy dynamics of
cristobalite and
silicate
glasses;
- Single-crystal inelastic studies for measurements of phonon dispersion
curves, as in our work on
calcite
and the ferroelastic phase transition in
sodium
carbonate;
- Single-crystal diffraction studies of diffuse scattering and critical
scattering, as in our work on
calcite
and the ferroelastic phase transition in
sodium
carbonate;
- Incoherent quasielastic spectroscopy for measurements of
diffusion-like motions;
- High-Q measurements for determination of short-range order, as in
our studies on
cristobalite.
A
list
of papers related to this topic can be inspected.
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