The quest for unlocking the elusive nature of catalytic active sites in nanometer-scale catalysts often dictates the make-up of a research team. It includes chemists, able to make well-defined nano-structures that can range from shape-controlled nanoparticles to size-selected clusters to single site catalysts. Characterization experts develop new methods, required for their atomic-level characterization in operando conditions.

Abstract:  Neutron scattering, as a tool for the investigation of materials in all their diversity and complexity, was pioneered in the north American in the 1950s. Early instrumental techniques were quickly established to unravel atomic structures of materials as well as atomic dynamics, for which Cilff Shull and Bert Brockhouse were awarded the Nobel prize in physics in 1994, many years after their pioneering work but at a time when neutron scattering was applied and a truly indispensable tool to a very wide spectrum of scientific fields.