Echidna
(high resolution powder diffractometer)
Work led by Vanessa Peterson on the study of Cu3(btc)2, where btc = 1,3,5-benzene tricarboxylate, a material that contracts, as shown below, when heated has been accepted for publication in the prestigious chemistry journal Angewandte Chemie.
This work has revealed two new vibrational mechanisms for negative thermal expansion (NTE) in Metal-Organic Frameworks: the first instance where 3- rather than 2-connecting bridges contribute to NTE; and expands the known means by which such properties can be introduced into novel materials.
Density-functional theory and molecular dynamics calculations were performed at ANSTO, along with neutron powder diffraction on the ECHIDNA powder diffractometer, while inelastic neutron scattering data were taken on the TOSCA and NEAT spectrometers at ISIS (UK) and the Berlin Neutron Scattering Centre (Germany). This work also forms part of a broader collaboration between the Institute and Cameron Kepert's group at The University of Sydney.