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Henry K, Colin M, Chambery G, Vigolo B, Cahen S, Hérold C, Nesvizhevsky V, Le Floch S, Pischedda V, Chen S, Dubois M. Flexible fluorinated graphite foils with high contents of the (C 2F) n phase for slow neutron reflectors. Dalton Trans 2024; 53:9473-9481. [PMID: 38767605 DOI: 10.1039/d4dt00794h] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 05/22/2024]
Abstract
In order to prepare self-standing and flexible slow neutron reflectors made of graphite fluoride (GF) with high contents of (C2F)n structural phase, graphite foils of different thicknesses were used as starting materials for gas (F2)/solid fluorination. The maximal interlayer distance of GF was obtained with this phase thanks to the stacking sequence FCCF/FCCF; this is mandatory for the efficient reflection of slow neutrons. 71 and 77% of the (C2F)n phase were achieved for graphite foils with thicknesses of 1.0 and 0.1 mm, respectively. The interlayer distances were 8.6 Å as expected. The fluorination conditions (static mode, a long duration of 24 h, annealing in pure F2 gas for 24 h, and temperatures in the 390-460 °C range) were adapted to large pieces of graphite foils (7 × 7 cm2) in order to both avoid exfoliation and achieve a homogeneous dispersion of fluorine atoms. This process was also efficient for thinner (0.01 mm thick) graphitized graphene oxide foil. 56% of the (C2F)n phase and an interlayer of 8.6 Å were achieved for this foil when fluorination was performed at 430 °C. Whatever the nature and the thickness of the foil, their flexibilities are maintained.
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Affiliation(s)
- Killian Henry
- Université Clermont Auvergne, ICCF, 24, avenue des Blaise Pascal, 63178 Aubière, France
- Université de Lorraine, CNRS, Institut Jean Lamour, UMR 7198, allée André Guinier, 54000 Nancy, France.
| | - Marie Colin
- Université Clermont Auvergne, ICCF, 24, avenue des Blaise Pascal, 63178 Aubière, France
| | - Gabin Chambery
- Université Clermont Auvergne, ICCF, 24, avenue des Blaise Pascal, 63178 Aubière, France
| | - Brigitte Vigolo
- Université de Lorraine, CNRS, Institut Jean Lamour, UMR 7198, allée André Guinier, 54000 Nancy, France.
| | - Sébastien Cahen
- Université de Lorraine, CNRS, Institut Jean Lamour, UMR 7198, allée André Guinier, 54000 Nancy, France.
| | - Claire Hérold
- Université de Lorraine, CNRS, Institut Jean Lamour, UMR 7198, allée André Guinier, 54000 Nancy, France.
| | - Valery Nesvizhevsky
- Institut Max von Laue - Paul Langevin, 71 avenue des Martyrs, F-38042, Grenoble, France
| | - Sylvie Le Floch
- Institut Lumière Matière, UMR 5306, Université de Lyon, Université Claude Bernard Lyon1, CNRS, 10 rue Ada Byron, F-69622 Villeurbanne, France
| | - Vittoria Pischedda
- Institut Lumière Matière, UMR 5306, Université de Lyon, Université Claude Bernard Lyon1, CNRS, 10 rue Ada Byron, F-69622 Villeurbanne, France
| | - Sam Chen
- School of Environmental and Life Sciences, The University of Newcastle, Callaghan, New South Wales 2308, Australia
| | - Marc Dubois
- Université Clermont Auvergne, ICCF, 24, avenue des Blaise Pascal, 63178 Aubière, France
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Lychagin E, Dubois M, Nesvizhevsky V. Powders of Diamond Nanoparticles as a Promising Material for Reflectors of Very Cold and Cold Neutrons. NANOMATERIALS (BASEL, SWITZERLAND) 2024; 14:387. [PMID: 38392760 PMCID: PMC10892265 DOI: 10.3390/nano14040387] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 12/14/2023] [Revised: 01/18/2024] [Accepted: 02/10/2024] [Indexed: 02/24/2024]
Abstract
More than 15 years ago, the study of nanodiamond (ND) powders as a material for designing reflectors of very cold neutrons (VCNs) and cold neutrons (CNs) began. Such reflectors can significantly increase the efficiency of using such neutrons and expand the scope of their application for solving applied and fundamental problems. This review considers the principle of operation of VCN and CN reflectors based on ND powders and their advantages. Information is presented on the performed experimental and theoretical studies of the effect of the size, structure, and composition of NDs on the efficiency of reflectors. Methods of chemical and mechanical treatments of powders in order to modify their chemical composition and structure are discussed. The aim is to avoid, or at least to decrease, the neutron inelastic scatterers and absorbers (mainly hydrogen atoms but also metallic impurities and nitrogen) as well as to enhance coherent elastic scattering (to destroy ND clusters and sp2 carbon shells on the ND surface that result from the preparation of NDs). Issues requiring further study are identified. They include deeper purification of NDs from impurities that can be activated in high radiation fluxes, the stability of NDs in high radiation fluxes, and upscaling methods for producing larger quantities of ND powders. Possible ways of solving these problems are proposed.
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Affiliation(s)
- Egor Lychagin
- Frank Laboratory of Neutron Physics, Joint Institute for Nuclear Research, 141980 Dubna, Russia
| | - Marc Dubois
- Clermont Auvergne INP, Université Clermont Auvergne, 63178 Aubière, France
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Bosak A, Dubois M, Korobkina E, Lychagin E, Muzychka A, Nekhaev G, Nesvizhevsky V, Nezvanov A, Saerbeck T, Schweins R, Strelkov A, Turlybekuly K, Zhernenkov K. Effect of Nanodiamond Sizes on the Efficiency of the Quasi-Specular Reflection of Cold Neutrons. MATERIALS (BASEL, SWITZERLAND) 2023; 16:703. [PMID: 36676440 PMCID: PMC9866128 DOI: 10.3390/ma16020703] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Figures] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 12/07/2022] [Revised: 01/04/2023] [Accepted: 01/06/2023] [Indexed: 06/17/2023]
Abstract
Nanomaterials can intensively scatter and/or reflect radiation. Such processes and materials are of theoretical and practical interest. Here, we study the quasi-specular reflections (QSRs) of cold neutrons (CNs) and the reflections of very cold neutrons (VCNs) from nanodiamond (ND) powders. The fluorination of ND increased its efficiency by removing/replacing hydrogen, which is otherwise the dominant cause of neutron loss due to incoherent scattering. The probability of the diffuse reflection of VCNs increased for certain neutron wavelengths by using appropriate ND sizes. Based on model concepts of the interaction of CNs with ND, and in reference to our previous work, we assume that the angular distribution of quasi-specularly reflected CNs is narrower, and that the probability of QSRs of longer wavelength neutrons increases if we increase the characteristic sizes of NDs compared to standard detonation nanodiamonds (DNDs). However, the probability of QSRs of CNs with wavelengths below the cutoff of ~4.12 Å decreases due to diffraction scattering on the ND crystal lattice. We experimentally compared the QSRs of CNs from ~4.3 nm and ~15.0 nm ND. Our qualitative conclusions and numerical estimates can help optimize the parameters of ND for specific practical applications based on the QSRs of CNs.
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Affiliation(s)
- Alexei Bosak
- European Synchrotron Radiation Facility, 71 Av. des Martyrs, F-38043 Grenoble, France
| | - Marc Dubois
- Clermont Auvergne INP, Université Clermont Auvergne, CNRS UMR6296, 24 Av. Blaise Pascal, F-63178 Aubière, France
| | - Ekaterina Korobkina
- Department of Nuclear Engineering, North Carolina State University, Raleigh, NC 27695, USA
| | - Egor Lychagin
- Frank Laboratory of Neutron Physics, Joint Institute for Nuclear Research, 6 Joliot Curie, Ru-141980 Dubna, Russia
| | - Alexei Muzychka
- Frank Laboratory of Neutron Physics, Joint Institute for Nuclear Research, 6 Joliot Curie, Ru-141980 Dubna, Russia
| | - Grigory Nekhaev
- Frank Laboratory of Neutron Physics, Joint Institute for Nuclear Research, 6 Joliot Curie, Ru-141980 Dubna, Russia
| | - Valery Nesvizhevsky
- Institut Max von Laue—Paul Langevin, 71 Av. des Martyrs, F-38042 Grenoble, France
| | - Alexander Nezvanov
- Frank Laboratory of Neutron Physics, Joint Institute for Nuclear Research, 6 Joliot Curie, Ru-141980 Dubna, Russia
| | - Thomas Saerbeck
- Institut Max von Laue—Paul Langevin, 71 Av. des Martyrs, F-38042 Grenoble, France
| | - Ralf Schweins
- Institut Max von Laue—Paul Langevin, 71 Av. des Martyrs, F-38042 Grenoble, France
| | - Alexander Strelkov
- Frank Laboratory of Neutron Physics, Joint Institute for Nuclear Research, 6 Joliot Curie, Ru-141980 Dubna, Russia
| | - Kylyshbek Turlybekuly
- Frank Laboratory of Neutron Physics, Joint Institute for Nuclear Research, 6 Joliot Curie, Ru-141980 Dubna, Russia
- Faculty of Physics and Technology, L.N. Gumilyov Eurasian National University, Satpayev Str. 2, Astana 010000, Kazakhstan
- The Institute of Nuclear Physics, Ministry of Energy of the Republic of Kazakhstan, Ibragimova Str. 1, Almaty 0500032, Kazakhstan
| | - Kirill Zhernenkov
- Frank Laboratory of Neutron Physics, Joint Institute for Nuclear Research, 6 Joliot Curie, Ru-141980 Dubna, Russia
- JCNS at Heinz Maier-Leibnitz Zentrum (MLZ), Forschungzentrum Jülich GmbH, 1 Lichtenbergstrasse, D-85748 Garching, Germany
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Chernyavsky SM, Dubois M, Korobkina E, Lychagin EV, Muzychka AY, Nekhaev GV, Nesvizhevsky VV, Nezvanov AY, Strelkov AV, Zhernenkov KN. Enhanced directional extraction of very cold neutrons using a diamond nanoparticle powder reflector. THE REVIEW OF SCIENTIFIC INSTRUMENTS 2022; 93:123302. [PMID: 36586889 DOI: 10.1063/5.0124833] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 09/08/2022] [Accepted: 11/09/2022] [Indexed: 06/17/2023]
Abstract
For more than a decade, detonation nanodiamond (DND) powders have been actively studied as a material for efficient reflectors of very cold neutrons (VCNs) and cold neutrons. In this work, we experimentally demonstrate, for the first time, the possibility of enhanced directional extraction of a VCN beam using a reflector made of fluorinated DND powder. With respect to the theoretical flux calculated from an isotropic source at the bottom of the reflector cavity, the gain in the VCN flux density along the beam axis is ∼10 for the neutron velocities of ∼57 and ∼75 m/s. The use of such reflectors for enhanced directional extraction of VCN from neutron sources will make it possible to noticeably increase the neutron fluxes delivered to experiments and expand the scope of VCN applications.
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Affiliation(s)
- S M Chernyavsky
- National Research Center "Kurchatov Institute," 123182 Moscow, Russia
| | - M Dubois
- Université Clermont Auvergne, Clermont Auvergne INP, Institut de Chimie de Clermont-Ferrand (ICCF UMR 6296), CNRS, 63178 Auvergne, France
| | - E Korobkina
- NC State University, Raleigh, North Carolina 27695-710, USA
| | - E V Lychagin
- Joint Institute for Nuclear Research, 141980 Dubna, Russia
| | - A Yu Muzychka
- Joint Institute for Nuclear Research, 141980 Dubna, Russia
| | - G V Nekhaev
- Joint Institute for Nuclear Research, 141980 Dubna, Russia
| | | | - A Yu Nezvanov
- Joint Institute for Nuclear Research, 141980 Dubna, Russia
| | - A V Strelkov
- Joint Institute for Nuclear Research, 141980 Dubna, Russia
| | - K N Zhernenkov
- Joint Institute for Nuclear Research, 141980 Dubna, Russia
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Kabir II, Osborn JC, Lu W, Mata JP, Rehm C, Yeoh GH, Ersez T. Structure evolution of nanodiamond aggregates: a SANS and USANS study. J Appl Crystallogr 2022; 55:353-361. [PMID: 35497657 PMCID: PMC8985605 DOI: 10.1107/s1600576722002084] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 09/21/2021] [Accepted: 02/21/2022] [Indexed: 12/03/2022] Open
Abstract
Nanodiamonds (NDs) produced by two different techniques have been studied by ultra-small- (USANS) and small-angle neutron scattering (SANS): (i) produced by the detonation of explosives in an oxygen-deficient atmosphere (TNT + hexogen), which results in the production of detonation nanodiamonds, and (ii) produced by laser ablation of a carbon–hydrocarbon mixture. The size distribution of the particles and the composition of the outer layers are expected to vary depending on the source of the NDs. Ultra-small-angle neutron scattering (USANS) and small-angle neutron scattering (SANS) measurements, covering length scales from micrometres to nanometres, were made to investigate the structure of nanodiamonds (NDs) and their suspensions. These nanodiamonds were produced by two different techniques, namely by the detonation method and by the laser ablation of a carbon–hydrocarbon mixture. The (U)SANS results indicated the presence of structures four orders of magnitude larger than the dimensions of a single ND particle, consisting of aggregations of ND particles. This aggregation of the ND particles was studied by employing the contrast variation technique. Two different solvents, namely H2O and dimethyl sulfoxide (and their deuterated counterparts), were used to understand the role of hydrogen in the shape and size of the aggregates. The analysis of experimental data from SANS measurements also reveals the ND particles to have an ellipsoidal structure. Using a defined shape model and the SANS contrast variation technique, it was possible to characterize the non-diamond outer shell of the particles and determine the outer layer thickness. This clarification of the structure of the NDs will allow better preparation of suspensions/samples for various applications. Understanding the structure of NDs at multiple length scales also provides crucial knowledge of particle–particle interaction and its effect on the aggregation structures.
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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. Effect of Particle Sizes on the Efficiency of Fluorinated Nanodiamond Neutron Reflectors. NANOMATERIALS 2021; 11:nano11113067. [PMID: 34835831 PMCID: PMC8620422 DOI: 10.3390/nano11113067] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 10/01/2021] [Revised: 11/04/2021] [Accepted: 11/11/2021] [Indexed: 11/25/2022]
Abstract
Over a decade ago, it was confirmed that detonation nanodiamond (DND) powders reflect very cold neutrons (VCNs) diffusively at any incidence angle and that they reflect cold neutrons quasi-specularly at small incidence angles. In the present publication, we report the results of a study on the effect of particle sizes on the overall efficiency of neutron reflectors made of DNDs. To perform this study, we separated, by centrifugation, the fraction of finer DND nanoparticles (which are referred to as S-DNDs here) from a broad initial size distribution and experimentally and theoretically compared the performance of such a neutron reflector with that from deagglomerated fluorinated DNDs (DF-DNDs). Typical commercially available DNDs with the size of ~4.3 nm are close to the optimum for VCNs with a typical velocity of ~50 m/s, while smaller and larger DNDs are more efficient for faster and slower VCN velocities, respectively. Simulations show that, for a realistic reflector geometry, the replacement of DF-DNDs (a reflector with the best achieved performance) by S-DNDs (with smaller size DNDs) increases the neutron albedo in the velocity range above ~60 m/s. This increase in the albedo results in an increase in the density of faster VCNs in such a reflector cavity of up to ~25% as well as an increase in the upper boundary of the velocities of efficient VCN reflection.
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Affiliation(s)
- Aleksander Aleksenskii
- Laboratory of Physics for Cluster Structures, Ioffe Institute, Polytechnicheskaya Str. 26, 194021 St. Petersburg, Russia; (A.A.); (A.D.); (A.S.); (A.V.)
| | - Marcus Bleuel
- National Institute of Standards and Technology Center for Neutron Research, Gaithersburg, MD 20899, USA;
- Department of Materials Science and Engineering, University of Maryland, College Park, MD 20742, USA
| | - Alexei Bosak
- European Synchrotron Radiation Facility, 71 av. des Martyrs, F-38042 Grenoble, France; (A.B.); (A.C.)
| | - Alexandra Chumakova
- European Synchrotron Radiation Facility, 71 av. des Martyrs, F-38042 Grenoble, France; (A.B.); (A.C.)
| | - Artur Dideikin
- Laboratory of Physics for Cluster Structures, Ioffe Institute, Polytechnicheskaya Str. 26, 194021 St. Petersburg, Russia; (A.A.); (A.D.); (A.S.); (A.V.)
| | - Marc Dubois
- Institut de Chimie de Clermont-Ferrand (ICCF UME 6296), Université Clermont Auvergne, CNRS, 24 av. Blaise Pascal, F-63178 Aubière, France;
| | - Ekaterina Korobkina
- Department of Nuclear Engineering, North Carolina State University, Raleigh, NC 27695, USA;
| | - Egor Lychagin
- Frank Laboratory of Neutron Physics, Joint Institute for Nuclear Research, 6 Joliot Curie, 141980 Dubna, Russia; (E.L.); (A.M.); (G.N.); (A.N.); (A.S.); (K.T.); (K.Z.)
- Faculty of Physics, Lomonosov Moscow State University, GSP-1, Leninskie Gory, 119991 Moscow, Russia
- Department of Nuclear Physics, Dubna State University, Universitetskaya 19, 141982 Dubna, Russia
| | - Alexei Muzychka
- Frank Laboratory of Neutron Physics, Joint Institute for Nuclear Research, 6 Joliot Curie, 141980 Dubna, Russia; (E.L.); (A.M.); (G.N.); (A.N.); (A.S.); (K.T.); (K.Z.)
| | - Grigory Nekhaev
- Frank Laboratory of Neutron Physics, Joint Institute for Nuclear Research, 6 Joliot Curie, 141980 Dubna, Russia; (E.L.); (A.M.); (G.N.); (A.N.); (A.S.); (K.T.); (K.Z.)
| | - Valery Nesvizhevsky
- Institut Max von Laue–Paul Langevin, 71 av. des Martyrs, F-38042 Grenoble, France;
- Correspondence:
| | - Alexander Nezvanov
- Frank Laboratory of Neutron Physics, Joint Institute for Nuclear Research, 6 Joliot Curie, 141980 Dubna, Russia; (E.L.); (A.M.); (G.N.); (A.N.); (A.S.); (K.T.); (K.Z.)
| | - Ralf Schweins
- Institut Max von Laue–Paul Langevin, 71 av. des Martyrs, F-38042 Grenoble, France;
| | - Alexander Shvidchenko
- Laboratory of Physics for Cluster Structures, Ioffe Institute, Polytechnicheskaya Str. 26, 194021 St. Petersburg, Russia; (A.A.); (A.D.); (A.S.); (A.V.)
| | - Alexander Strelkov
- Frank Laboratory of Neutron Physics, Joint Institute for Nuclear Research, 6 Joliot Curie, 141980 Dubna, Russia; (E.L.); (A.M.); (G.N.); (A.N.); (A.S.); (K.T.); (K.Z.)
| | - Kylyshbek Turlybekuly
- Frank Laboratory of Neutron Physics, Joint Institute for Nuclear Research, 6 Joliot Curie, 141980 Dubna, Russia; (E.L.); (A.M.); (G.N.); (A.N.); (A.S.); (K.T.); (K.Z.)
- Faculty of Physics and Technology, 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
| | - Alexander Vul’
- Laboratory of Physics for Cluster Structures, Ioffe Institute, Polytechnicheskaya Str. 26, 194021 St. Petersburg, Russia; (A.A.); (A.D.); (A.S.); (A.V.)
| | - Kirill Zhernenkov
- Frank Laboratory of Neutron Physics, Joint Institute for Nuclear Research, 6 Joliot Curie, 141980 Dubna, Russia; (E.L.); (A.M.); (G.N.); (A.N.); (A.S.); (K.T.); (K.Z.)
- JCNS at Heinz Maier-Leibnitz Zentrum (MLZ), Forshungzentrum Julich GmbH, 1 Lichtenbergstrasse, G-85748 Garching, Germany
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Kulvelis YV, Primachenko ON, Gofman IV, Odinokov AS, Shvidchenko AV, Yudina EB, Marinenko EA, Lebedev VT, Vul AY. Modification of the mechanism of proton conductivity of the perfluorinated membrane copolymer by nanodiamonds. Russ Chem Bull 2021. [DOI: 10.1007/s11172-021-3274-4] [Citation(s) in RCA: 3] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/28/2022]
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Clustering of Diamond Nanoparticles, Fluorination and Efficiency of Slow Neutron Reflectors. NANOMATERIALS 2021; 11:nano11081945. [PMID: 34443779 PMCID: PMC8398902 DOI: 10.3390/nano11081945] [Citation(s) in RCA: 3] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 07/09/2021] [Revised: 07/19/2021] [Accepted: 07/23/2021] [Indexed: 11/25/2022]
Abstract
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.
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