High-pressure neutron diffraction studies at LANSCE

Abstract

The development of neutron diffraction under extreme pressure (P) and temperature (T) conditions is highly valuable to condensed matter physics, crystal chemistry, materials science, and earth and planetary sciences. We have incorporated a 500-ton press TAP-98 into the HiPPO diffractometer at the Los Alamos Neutron Science Center (LANSCE) to conduct in situ high-P–T neutron diffraction experiments. We have developed a large gem-crystal anvil cell, ZAP, to conduct neutron diffraction experiments at high P. The ZAP cell can be used to integrate multiple experimental techniques such as neutron diffraction, laser spectroscopy, and ultrasonic interferometery. More recently, we have developed high-P low-T gas/liquid cells in conjunction with neutron diffraction. These techniques enable in situ and real-time examination of gas uptake/release processes and allow accurate, time-dependent determination of changes in crystal structure and related reaction kinetics. We have successfully used these techniques to study the equations of state, structural phase transitions, and thermo-mechanical properties of metals, ceramics, and minerals. We have conducted researches on the formation/decomposition kinetics of methane, CO2 and hydrogen hydrate clathrates, and hydrogen/CO2 adsorption of inclusion compounds such as metal–organic frameworks (MOFs). The aim of our research is to accurately map out phase relations and determine structural parameters (lattice constants, atomic positions, atomic thermal parameters, bond lengths, bond angles, etc.) in the P–T–X space. We are developing further high-P–T technology with a new 2000-ton press, TAPLUS-2000, and a ZIA (Deformation-DIA type) cubic anvil package to routinely achieve pressures up to 20 GPa and temperatures up to 2000 K. The design of a dedicated high-P neutron beamline, LAPTRON, is also underway for simultaneous high-P–T neutron diffraction, ultrasonic, calorimetry, radiography, and tomography studies. Studies based on high-pressure neutron diffraction are important for multidisciplinary sciences, particularly for theoretical/computational modeling/simulations.