Clustering of diamond nanoparticles, fluorination and efficiency of slow neutron reflectors

Aleksenskii A. Bleuel M. Bosak A. Chumakova A. Dideikin A. Dubois M. Korobkina E. Lychagin E. Muzychka A. Nekhaev G. Nesvizhevsky V. Nezvanov A. Schweins R. Shvidchenko A. Strelkov A. Turlybekuly K. Vul’ A. Zhernenkov K.
August 2021 MDPI AG

Nanomaterials
2021 #11 Issue 8

Neutrons can be an instrument or an object in many fields of research. Major efforts all over the world are devoted to improving the intensity of neutron sources and the efficiency of neutron delivery for experimental installations. In this context, neutron reflectors play a key role because they allow significant improvement of both economy and efficiency. For slow neutrons, Detonation NanoDiamond (DND) powders provide exceptionally good reflecting performance due to the combination of enhanced coherent scattering and low neutron absorption. The enhancement is at maximum when the nanoparticle diameter is close to the neutron wavelength. Therefore, the mean nanoparticle diameter and the diameter distribution are important. In addition, DNDs show clustering, which increases their effective diameters. Here, we report on how breaking agglomerates affects clustering of DNDs and the overall reflector performance. We characterize DNDs using small-angle neutron scattering, X-ray diffraction, scanning and transmission electron microscopy, neutron activation analysis, dynamical light scattering, infra-red light spectroscopy, and others. Based on the results of these tests, we discuss the calculated size distribution of DNDs, the absolute cross-section of neutron scattering, the neutron albedo, and the neutron intensity gain for neutron traps with DND walls.

Albedo , Clustering and agglomeration of nanodiamonds , Deagglomeration , Detonation nanodiamonds , Fluorination , Monte Carlo , Nanopowder , Reflectors of slow neutrons , Size distribution

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Ioffe Institute, Polytechnicheskaya str. 26, St. Petersburg, Ru-194021, Russian Federation
National Institute of Standards and Technology, Gaithersburg, 20899, MD, United States
Department of Materials Science and Engineering, University of Maryland, College Park, 20742-2115, MD, United States
European Synchrotron Radiation Facility, 71 av. des Martyrs, Grenoble, F-38042, France
Institut de Chimie de Clermont-Ferrand (ICCF UME 6296), Université Clermont Auvergne, CNRS, 24 av. Blaise Pascal, Aubière, F-63178, France
Department of Nuclear Engineering, North Carolina State University, Raleigh, 27695, NC, United States
Joint Institute for Nuclear Research, 6 Joliot Curie, Dubna, Ru-141980, Russian Federation
Lomonosov Moscow State University, GSP-1, Leninskie Gory, Moscow, Ru-119991, Russian Federation
Dubna State University, Universitetskaya 19, Dubna, Ru-141982, Russian Federation
Institute Max von Laue–Paul Langevin, 71 av. des Martyrs, Grenoble, F-38042, France
L.N. Gumilyov Eurasian National University, Satpayev str. 2, Nur-Sultan, 010000, Kazakhstan
The Institute of Nuclear Physics, Ministry of Energy of the Republic of Kazakhstan, Ibragimova str. 1, Almaty, 050032, Kazakhstan
JCNS at Heinz Maier-Leibnitz Zentrum (MLZ), Forshungzentrum Julich GmbH, 1 Lichtenbergstrasse, Garching, G-85748, Germany

Ioffe Institute
National Institute of Standards and Technology
Department of Materials Science and Engineering
European Synchrotron Radiation Facility
Institut de Chimie de Clermont-Ferrand (ICCF UME 6296)
Department of Nuclear Engineering
Joint Institute for Nuclear Research
Lomonosov Moscow State University
Dubna State University
Institute Max von Laue–Paul Langevin
L.N. Gumilyov Eurasian National University
The Institute of Nuclear Physics
JCNS at Heinz Maier-Leibnitz Zentrum (MLZ)

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