Pressure cells for in situ neutron total scattering: time and real-space resolution during deuterium absorption

Kazutaka Ikeda; Hidetoshi Ohshita; Toshiya Otomo; Kouji Sakaki; Hyunjeong Kim; Yumiko Nakamura; Akihiko Machida; Robert B Von Dreele

doi:10.1107/S1600576722010561

Pressure cells for in situ neutron total scattering: time and real-space resolution during deuterium absorption

J Appl Crystallogr. 2022 Dec 1;55(Pt 6):1631-1639. doi: 10.1107/S1600576722010561.

Authors

Kazutaka Ikeda^{1

2

3}, Hidetoshi Ohshita¹, Toshiya Otomo^{1

2

3

4}, Kouji Sakaki⁵, Hyunjeong Kim⁵, Yumiko Nakamura⁵, Akihiko Machida⁶, Robert B Von Dreele⁷

Affiliations

¹ Institute of Materials Structure Science, High Energy Accelerator Research Organization (KEK), Tokai, Ibaraki 319-1106, Japan.
² J-PARC Center, High Energy Accelerator Research Organization (KEK), Tokai, Ibaraki 319-1106, Japan.
³ School of High Energy Accelerator Science, Graduate University for Advanced Studies, Tsukuba, Ibaraki 305-0801, Japan.
⁴ Graduate School of Science and Engineering, Ibaraki University, Tokai, Ibaraki 319-1106, Japan.
⁵ National Institute of Advanced Industrial Science and Technology, Tsukuba, Ibaraki 305-8569 Japan.
⁶ Quantum Beam Science Research Directorate, National Institutes for Quantum and Radiological Science and Technology, Sayo, Hyogo 679-5148, Japan.
⁷ Advanced Photon Source, Argonne National Laboratory, 9700 South Cass Avenue, Argonne, IL 60439-4814, USA.

Abstract

In situ gas-loading sample holders for two-dimensionally arranged detectors in time-of-flight neutron total scattering experiments have been developed to investigate atomic arrangements during deuterium absorption using time and real-space resolution. A single-crystal sapphire container was developed that allows conditions of 473 K and 10 MPa hydrogen gas pressure. High-resolution transient measurements detected deuterium absorption by palladium that proceeded within a few seconds. A double-layered container with thick- and thin-walled vanadium allowed conditions of 423 K and 10 MPa hydrogen gas pressure. The deuterium occupation sites of a lanthanum-nickel-aluminium alloy are discussed in detail on the basis of real-space high-resolution data obtained from in situ neutron scattering measurements and reverse Monte Carlo structural modeling.

Keywords: hydrogen storage; in situ neutron total scattering; pair distribution functions; reverse Monte Carlo methods.

Grants and funding

The following funding is acknowledged: JSPS KAKENHI [grant Nos. JP23686101, JP24241034, JP15K13810, JP19K12650 and JP18H05518 (‘Hydrogenomics’)]; Advanced Fundamental Research Project on Hydrogen Storage Materials (HYDRO-STAR) from the New Energy and Industrial Technology Development Organization (NEDO), Japan; Photon and Quantum Basic Research Coordinated Development Program from the Ministry of Education, Culture, Sports, Science and Technology (MEXT), Japan. RBVD is supported by Argonne National Laboratory and the US Department of Energy, Office of Science, Office of Basic Energy Science, under contract No. DE-AC02-06CH11357.