Europlanet Distributed Research and Technology Infrastructure (RTI) Facility – ISIS Neutron and Muon Source Disordered Materials
Facility for studying disordered materials.
Average Transnational Access (TA) visit: 1-7 days
Preferred timeframe for TA visits: Cycle is on roughly every other month for a month
Neutron scattering is used to obtain a direct and detailed insight into the structure of condensed matter – matching dimensions in space from single atoms to macromolecules or mesopores – all dependent on the instrument used. Compared to other scattering probes (e.g. x-rays), neutrons are non-interacting and scatter off the nucleus, allowing for much deeper penetration and therefore the use of complex sample environments (e.g. thick metal pressure cells). This unique mechanism also gives it the ability to ‘see’ hydrogen with high sensitivity, which is present in most molecules relevant to planetary and interstellar environments, and allows it to differentiate between isotopes.
The Disordered Materials group at the ISIS Neutron and Muon Source offers two neutron scattering beamlines (NIMROD and SANDALS) to the Europlanet community. We specialise in studying disordered materials, which are any materials that display no long-range order, such as liquids, glasses, amorphous solids, and multi-phase systems. Our beamlines allow for the full structural characterisation of such materials and the interactions between their components, by covering a simultaneous wide length scale range (atomic to nanoscopic) and exploiting the isotopic differentiation. There is also the capability of studying the sizes/shapes and aggregation of particles, like micelles and colloids.
These beamlines have been previously used for a variety of planetary/interstellar relevant studies such as:
- Structure and porosity (volume fraction, pore shapes and sizes) evolution of amorphous solid water, as relevant to protoplanetary disks
- Finding new phases of NaCl-water ice, as relevant to icy moons
- Structural and chemistry differences between mixtures of liquid water and various salts, as relevant to icy moon oceans
- Influence of magnesium perchlorate on liquid water and the ability of amino acids to self-assemble under such conditions, as relevant to Martian waters
- Influence of ammonia on liquid water, as relevant to Titan and ammonia-rich ocean worlds.
- Surface structure of icy grains and the impact on collisional properties, as relevant to planet-forming regions
We offer a wide variety of sample environments. Most experiments use our standard flat-plate cells that are attached to systems that bring the sample to temperatures ranging from 4 to 1500 K and/or pressures up to 4 kbar. There are specialised sample environments as well, including a rig that allows you to vapour-deposit gases in-situ onto a cold plate and form ice at temperatures down to 10 K, under high vacuum (10-7 mbar). We are open to collaborative developments of new sample environments where there is an unmet scientific need.
All aspects pre, during and post-beam time will be supported by both the Europlanet Facility Contact and the relevant Instrument Scientist.
Pre-Requirements for Application
Users that do not already have approved beam time can still contact us to either arrange it through our rapid access scheme (mainly for simple proof-of-concept testing) and/or prepare for the next round.
Contact
You must get in touch with the host facility to discuss the technical feasibility of your proposal before submitting an application. If you do not contact the host, your proposal will not be approved.
Dr Zac Amato, ISIS Neutron and Muon Source, Rutherford Appleton Laboratory, Harwell Oxford, Didcot OX11 0QX.
Images
Publications
- Amato, Z., Gärtner, S., Ghesquière, P., Headen, T.F., Youngs, T.G.A., Bowron, D.T., Cavalcanti, L.P., Rogers, S.E., Pascual, N., Auriacombe, O., Daly, E., Hamp, R.E., Hill, C.R., Ragesh Kumar, T.P., and Fraser, H.J. (2026) ‘Molecular and pore-scale evolution in amorphous solid water’ Phys. Chem. Chem. Phys., 28, pp. 524-537. doi: 10.1039/D5CP03851K
- Nasralla, M., Laurent, H., Alderman, O.L.G., and Dougan, L. (2025) ‘Solution structure of Titan-relevant aqueous ammonia by neutron diffraction’ Commun Chem, 8, pp. 227. doi: 10.1038/s42004-025-01599-8
- Hamp, R.E., Salzmann, C.G., Amato, Z., Beaumont, M.L., Chinnery, H.E., Fawdon, P., Headen, T.F., Henry, P.F., Perera, L., Thompson, S.P., and Fox-Powell, M.G. (2024) ‘Metastable Dihydrate of Sodium Chloride at Ambient Pressure’ The Journal of Physical Chemistry Letters, 15 (50), pp. 12301-12308. doi: 10.1021/acs.jpclett.4c02752
- Zhu, F., Bowron, D.T., Gärtner, S., Fang, C., Zhou, Y., Liu, H., Hannon, A.C. (2023) ‘Structural analysis of potassium borate solutions’ Phys. Chem. Chem. Phys., 25, pp. 12207-12219. doi: 10.1039/D2CP05331D
- Laurent, H., Soper, A. and Dougan, L. (2019) ‘Biomolecular self-assembly under extreme Martian mimetic conditions’, Molecular Physics, 117(22), pp. 3398–3407. doi: 10.1080/00268976.2019.1649485.
