ISIS Neutron and Muon Source Data Journal

Structural crossover in supercritical water

Abstract: We have recently shown that supercritical fluids exist in two qualitatively distinct states separated by the "Frenkel line". This theoretical prediction has been confirmed by experimental X-ray studies on Ne and CH4 samples. However, it has never been experimentally observed in water. We have performed computational simulations of the behaviour of water above and below the Frenkel line, and here seek to test these for the first time by neutron scattering on SANDALS. Using samples of different deuteration levels, we will isolate the partial pair distribution functions as a function of pressure. Supercritical water is of exceptional industrial importance for environmentally friendly cleaning and destruction of hazardous waste; thus as well as being of value from a fundamental scientific perspective, our results will point the way towards commercial exploitation of this novel behaviour.

Principal Investigator: Dr Anthony Phillips
Local Contact: Dr Sabrina Gaertner
Experimenter: Miss Bernet Meijer
Experimenter: Dr Kostya Trachenko
Experimenter: Mr Cillian Cockrell
Experimenter: Dr Richard Dixey
Experimenter: Dr Oliver Dicks

DOI: 10.5286/ISIS.E.RB2010258

ISIS Experiment Number: RB2010258

Publisher: STFC ISIS Neutron and Muon Source

Data format: RAW/Nexus
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Data Citation

The recommended format for citing this dataset in a research publication is as:
[author], [date], [title], [publisher], [doi]

For Example:
Dr Anthony Phillips et al; (2020): Structural crossover in supercritical water, STFC ISIS Neutron and Muon Source, https://doi.org/10.5286/ISIS.E.RB2010258

Data is released under the CC-BY-4.0 license.