Jülich Centre for Neutron Science (JCNS)

Neutron Scattering and Soft Matter (JCNS-1)

Research

Functional Polymer Materials

We study polymers with self-healing properties, with ion and proton conduction, membrane translocating polymers and polymers responding to environmental triggers for applications in automotive transport, energy devices and smart materials.

Proteins and Lipids

3D tertiary- and quaternary-structured proteins may show additional intrinsic disorder. We investigate their structure and dynamics covering disordered, partially ordered and ordered states to obtain relations between conformation and dimerization, liquid-liquid phase separation and binding to lipid membranes.

Soft Colloids

The 3D-structure, assembly and properties of soft colloids delicately depend on temperature, pressure, concentration, as well as on external forces mediated by flow, tension, electric and magnetic fields.

Nanomaterials

Nano materials have unique electro-optical and magnetic properties due to the confinement of electrons. Defined assemblies of nanoparticles in polymer matrices provide nanocomposites that combine nanoparticle properties with good mechanical and easy processing properties of polymers.

Method and Device Development

The characterization of soft and biological materials over many orders of length and time scales requires the development of new methods with greatly improved spatial and temporal resolution.

Ion conduction

Using neutron scattering we investigate how local nano-scale ion/membrane mobilities determine ion conduction and performance of fuel cells and batteries.

Last Modified: 13.09.2024