Neutron scattering in catalysis and energy materials

It is often said that time is money, but energy is even more important to the functioning of the world's society. As the supply of cheap oil decreases and the consequences of consuming it increase, we must strive towards cleaner methods of energy and chemical conversion. Catalysis is the key to this greener world, whether providing chemicals with increased efficiency, facilitating the reactions involved in energy transformation, or in remediation of waste. It is increasingly recognised that progress in catalytic science requires an understanding of the structures and operation of the catalyst at the molecular level, for which powerful computational and experimental techniques, such as neutron scattering are essential. This is particularly true for catalysts and energy materials because our samples are often challenging: black materials that strongly absorb light and fluoresce; reactions which occur under extreme conditions; and the challenge of observing minority species against a much greater bulk are just some examples where neutrons enable us to study materials otherwise inaccessible to investigation.

Due to difficulties in the past in gaining access to neutron sources, these techniques are historically not well exploited, despite their unique character. However, neutron scattering experiments are becoming much more widely available and there are further opportunities for continued growth. We are currently experiencing a great expansion of large neutron facilities. ISIS target station two in the UK, the SNS at Oak Ridge National Laboratory in the US and J-PARC in Japan have all opened in the last ten years. The Chinese Spallation Neutron Source and the European Spallation Source are expected to deliver their first neutrons in 2017 and 2019 respectively. New and upgraded instruments demonstrate unprecedented sensitivity and allow experiments previously forbidden by lack of flux to be considered.

Neutron methods are often split into elastic (diffraction and imaging) and inelastic (spectroscopic) techniques and used to investigate where atoms are and what atoms do. Both categories are well represented within this issue, and illustrate the breadth of research occurring in neutron facilities worldwide. Indeed the articles illustrate well the ability of neutron scattering techniques to provide unique information about the structures and dynamics of molecular processes in catalysis; and they relate to many of the most important and topical catalytic systems and processes, including microporous and nano-structured catalysts, with applications in energy, environment and chemical transformations. Many also exploit the increasing power of computation to provide models which complement and assist the interpretation of the experimental data, which is a trend we expect to increase. Catalysis and energy materials research with neutrons is in rude health.

We would like to thank all of the contributors to this issue for sharing their wisdom, the reviewers for their efforts in ensuring the highest standards, and the editorial staff for their patience and professionalism. The ISIS Neutron and Muon Facility and the UK Catalysis Hub are also thanked for their support in the preparation of this issue. We hope that this excellent collection of papers provides a demonstration of the power of neutron scattering for the characterisation of materials and processes in catalytic and energy science, a challenge to greater success for those already working with neutrons, and an inspiration to those in the field that have yet to consider what neutrons can do for their science.

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