ISIS Science Stories - March 2025
ISIS Neutron and Muon Source
ISIS is a world-leading neutron & muon source, operated by STFC at Rutherford Appleton Laboratory. STFC is part of UKRI.
Using neutrons and nanotubes to challenge assumptions about solvent behaviour
Charged surfaces and solvents interact in many different systems, from paints and dyes to Net Zero technologies such as batteries and supercapacitors, and even in the clay underneath the city of London. Most scientists ignore the solvent in these systems but, in this study, a team from 英国伦敦大学学院 and their collaborators from 英国帝国理工学院 , ISIS and the UK Catalysis Hub used the NIMROD beamline to measure the solvent structure around a charged carbon nanotube, a model system chosen to interrogate the solvent ordering at charged surfaces in unprecedented detail.
Testing a geopolymer coating material on Engin-X: a new milestone in engineering research
The research was led by Professor Mohd Mustafa Al Bakri Abdullah , deputy vice-chancellor of Universiti Malaysia Perlis , together with Engin-X beamline scientist Dr Tung Lik Lee , with the objective of understanding the characteristics of geopolymer coating materials. These can be used as fire-resistant protection layers for materials such as concrete, ceramics and metals.
This is the first time geopolymer material has been tested at Engin-X, which has traditionally focused on iron-based and alloy materials.
Clean and sustainable: developing shampoos that are better for your hair and the planet
Neutron reflectometry has been used by 欧莱雅 to understand the chemical interactions between models of shampoo and damaged hair, opening the door to the development of new, improved, products that are more sustainable. The study formed part of lead author Serena Cozzolino 's PhD project, which was a collaboration between colleagues from the ILL - Institut Laue Langevin , the cosmetics company L'Oréal and Kungliga Tekniska h?gskolan in Sweden.
Structural analysis of disordered materials with sub-picometre precision
By combining neutron and X-ray data, ISIS scientist Oliver Alderman has studied the structure of boron oxide liquid and glass over a large temperature range with incredible precision, even being able to see the thermal expansion of the B-O bonds.
A cutting-edge experiment that's good for business ?
The Swedish multinational engineering company Sandvik in collaboration with the spin-out company Scatterin AB , used two ISIS beamlines to characterise the materials used in their cutting tools, providing information they can use to improve them.
“Bulk measurements of material properties in-situ using neutron scattering at simulated operating conditions, will help us to further understand and develop our materials and tools.” Fredrik Lindberg
This research was funded by Sweden’s Innovation Agency, Vinnova , in order to build competence and capacity regarding industrial utilisation of large-scale research infrastructures such as MAX IV Laboratory and European Spallation Source ERIC .?
Green packaging manufacturer TENSEI LIMITED used the Zoom beamline to study their sustainable papers and adhesives, thanks to support from the Industry Impact Fund.
After meeting ISIS’ business development manager Graham Appleby at a sustainable biobased materials event, Tensei's CEO Annabelle (Filer)Cox realised that neutrons could benefit the company’s work developing sustainable papers and adhesives from agri-residues.
The Industry Impact Fund (I2F) is an Innovate UK initiative, designed to support UK industry by providing funding for them to access STFC facilities and scientific expertise.
Working with beamline scientist James Doutch and ReMade@ARI post-doc Yi Zhang , Graham and Tensei put together a successful I2F proposal. Ellie Purvis , who was part of Tensei's R&D team explains: “We told the ISIS team the challenges that we had to solve. James and Yi were amazing and showed us how neutrons could be used to answer our problems."
Unlocking the secrets of catalysis with neutrons
From cleaner fuels to greener products, neutrons are helping researchers develop materials and processes for a more sustainable future. Marking the recent funding announcement for the UK Catalysis Hub , we've published a feature article on ISIS's work in catalysis.