ISIS Neutron and Muon Source Data Journal

This is a page describing data taken during an experiment at the ISIS Neutron and Muon Source. Information about the ISIS Neutron and Muon Source can be found at https://www.isis.stfc.ac.uk.

ISIS Neutron and Muon Source

ISIS Neutron and Muon Data

Defect and disorder modeling on tailored rare-earth oxides nanocatalysts

Data collected on the
POLARIS instrument
at the ISIS facility

Abstract: The understanding and control of oxygen vacancy dynamics in oxide catalysts for hydrocarbon oxidation reactions are critical for catalyst optimization. We propose to perform neutron total scattering experiments on mixed rare-earth oxide nanocatalysts used in methane conversion reactions. By varying the composition of a ternary fluorite-based oxide, local ordering of oxygen vacancies can be controlled to fine-tune vacancy dynamics, thereby maximizing the selectivity of methane conversion to C2 products. We aim to model the structural disorder and quantify both the amount and long-range distribution of oxygen defects. Through pair distribution function analysis, we will investigate the local atomic ordering to determine whether the symmetry corresponds to fluorite, pyrochlore, or a coexistence of both in a biphasic system, while also assessing the presence of defect clusters or other configurations. Data analysis will be based on reverse Monte Carlo methods, offering insights that link structural disorder to catalytic�efficiency.

Public release date: 01 August 2028

Principal Investigator: Professor Andre Ferlauto
Experimenter: Professor Roberto Gomes de Aguiar Veiga
Experimenter: Dr Dimy Nanclares Fernandes Sanches
Local Contact: Dr Gabriel Perez
Experimenter: Dr Larissa Da Silva Marques

DOI: 10.5286/ISIS.E.RB2510234-1

Parent DOI: 10.5286/ISIS.E.RB2510234

ISIS Experiment Number: RB2510234

Part Number: 1

This dataset is NOT yet publicly available.
The release date is: 01 August 2028

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the dataset

Date of Experiment: 12 December 2025

Publisher: STFC ISIS Neutron and Muon Source

Data format: RAW/Nexus
Select the data format above to find out more about it.

Data Citation

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

For Example:
Professor Andre Ferlauto et al; (2025): Defect and disorder modeling on tailored rare-earth oxides nanocatalysts, STFC ISIS Neutron and Muon Source, https://doi.org/10.5286/ISIS.E.RB2510234-1

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