The Strucutre of Titanium Silicates by Wide Dynamic Range Neutron Diffaction
Jodie M Smith *, Dave M Pickup, Robert J Newport (University of Kent), Daniel Bowron, Alex Hannon (ISIS, Rutherford Appleton Laboratory)
Titanium silicates are of interest due to their possible use as bioactive materials in addition to their potential as ultra-low thermal expansion glasses and thin films with tailored refractive index. Glassy titanium silicate samples were made using the sol-gel method; they were characterized using X-ray diffraction and DSC. The new NIMROD, near and intermediate range order diffractometer, instrument at the ISIS neutron spallation source was used to further study these samples. This new instrument offers the possibility of neutron diffraction data across a very wide dynamic range in Q (Q = 0.02 Å^-1 to 100Å^-1 ) to provide information about the material’s structure over a larger range of length scales than other analogous instruments. The results from this experiment are presented herein and discussed in the context of our existing understanding of this class of material.