Neutron scattering techniques are powerful tools for characterizing the structure and dynamics of materials. They are particularly well-suited for studying polymer systems, which are typically rich in hydrogen. By combining neutron scattering with deuterium labeling, researchers can unravel complex structural features and dynamic behaviors within these systems. This review highlights recent advances in neutron scattering methods for probing the hierarchical structures and dynamics of polymeric materials, with a focus on developments over the past decade. We begin by discussing elastic techniques—such as small-angle neutron scattering (SANS)—used to examine polymer organization in both solution and solid states. Subsequently, we addressed the application of neutron reflectometry (NR) and grazing-incidence neutron scattering (GINS) techniques to the study of polymer thin-film structures. Next, we explore inelastic and quasi-elastic techniques, including inelastic neutron scattering (INS), quasi-elastic neutron scattering (QENS), and neutron spin echo (NSE), which provide insight into polymer dynamics across a broad range of time and length scales. Finally, we consider future directions for neutron scattering in soft matter research, emphasizing emerging methodologies and next-generation neutron sources that promise to further advance our understanding of these complex systems.
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Neutron scattering in the biological sciences: progress and prospects
The scattering of neutrons can be used to provide information on the structure and dynamics of biological systems on multiple length and time scales. Pursuant to a National Science Foundation-funded workshop in February 2018, recent developments in this field are reviewed here, as well as future prospects that can be expected given recent advances in sources, instrumentation and computational power and methods. Crystallography, solution scattering, dynamics, membranes, labeling and imaging are examined. For the extraction of maximum information, the incorporation of judicious specific deuterium labeling, the integration of several types of experiment, and interpretation using high-performance computer simulation models are often found to be particularly powerful.
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- Award ID(s):
- 1753238
- PAR ID:
- 10092035
- Author(s) / Creator(s):
- ; ; ; ; ; ; ; ; ; ; ; ; ; ; ; ; ; ; ; more »
- Date Published:
- Journal Name:
- Acta Crystallographica Section D Structural Biology
- Volume:
- 74
- Issue:
- 12
- ISSN:
- 2059-7983
- Page Range / eLocation ID:
- 1129 to 1168
- Format(s):
- Medium: X
- Sponsoring Org:
- National Science Foundation
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