Industrial processes and materials

Polarised neutron imaging reveals how adding just 1–2% rhodium changes the way a magnetoelastic phase transition unfolds through bulk iron-rhodium.

Are you interested in conducting your own postdoctoral research project, as a Marie Curie fellow, at the ILL - the world's leading facility in neutron science & technology?

Incorporating specifically tuned MOFs in a polymer membrane significantly enhances carbon dioxyde-methane separation performance, key in biogas purification. Neutron scattering measurements at ILL’s instrument IN1/Lagrange unveil the reasons why.

A team of researchers recently used the thermal-neutron two-axis diffractometer D23 at the ILL to investigate Na2 BaCo(PO4 )2 (NBCP), a material that surprisingly behaves as a ‘spin supersolid’ -a state combining properties of both a solid and a liquid. Neutrons, acting like tiny magnets themselves, were the ideal probes to reveal the hidden magnetic order and dynamics within this material. This discovery, which is also relevant for energy-efficient cooling, provides the first real-life evidence of a supersolid state in a quantum magnet.

A recent study published in Nature Communications reveals an unexpected transition between two different insulator states. Neutron diffractometry experiments at the ILL, conducted on the D2B high-resolution, two-axis diffractometer, open up the path towards advanced technologies by providing vital insights into the complex electronic behavior of such materials.

A recent study, published in Science and Technology of Advanced Materials, and conducted at the Institut Laue-Langevin (ILL), utilised polarised neutron scattering on the D33 instrument to explore skyrmions. This research provided crucial microscopic insights into these magnetic structures. The D33 instrument's unique ability to combine high magnetic fields and  polarised neutrons was essential for understanding skyrmion phase transitions. The findings  can enhance the development of skyrmion-based spintronic devices, which promise lower energy consumption and higher data storage efficiency. The study's methodologies can be applied to other magnetic materials, aiding in the discovery of new phenomena and the development of advanced magnetic materials.