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Over the past decade, developments at ISIS and SRS have been at the forefront of major improvements in techniques for determining structures o1 pressure phases. ISIS has a world-unique capacity for neutron diffraction studies to 20GPa, and the SRS facilities continue to keep an international in solving complex problems. These advances have underpinned a recent successful JIF bid to fund CSEC, a new Centre for Science at Extreme Conditions in the University of Edinburgh, to provide for advanced sample preparation, and a wide range of facilities for in-house experimentation and novel instrumentation. The research now proposed encompasses three distinct but closely inter-connected programmes: (1) to develop new technic (i) for preparing and collecting data from single- and quasi-single-crystal samples of high-pressure phases, and (ii) for high P-T experimentation, inc studies of liquid phases, at ISIS, SRS and in-house; and also to develop some CSEC facilities; (2) to apply these developments to (mainly) neutron diffraction studies of structure, bonding, disorder, thermal motion and melting in fundamental molecular systems and their mixtures -such as ice, ammonia, H2S, methane, N2, 02, H2, gas hydrates, and CHa(H2)2 - and also studies of novel molecular materials, polymerisation and geoplanetary systems including magnetic structures; and (3) to apply these developments to (mainly) x-ray diffraction studies of very complex structures, includir associated phenomena such as incommensuration, structured diffuse scattering and site disorder, in group I, 11, Illa, Illb, V, VI and lanthanide meta studies of high P-T phases and melting; and to open up new work on prototype semiconductors and other key binary systems, and on novel materials alkalVtransition-metal alloys. There will be active theory and computation collaborations across (2) and (3), and extensive technical collaborative sul for (1). These proposals, plus wide dissemination of results, will address all three main elements of EPSRC's mission.
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