X-RAYS AND NEUTRONS: ESSENTIAL TOOLS FOR NANOSCIENCE RESEARCH NNI WORKSHOP National Science and Technology Council X-RAYS AND NEUTRONS Committee on Technology Essential Tools for Nanoscience Research Subcommittee on Nanoscale Science, Engineering, and Technology Report of the National Nanotechnology Initiative Workshop National Nanotechnology Coordination Office June 16-18, 2005 4201 Wilson Blvd. Stafford II, Rm. 405 Arlington, VA 22230 X-RAYS AND NEUTRONS: 703-292-8626 phone ESSENTIAL TOOLS FOR 703-292-9312 fax NANOSCIENCE RESEARCH www.nano.gov Report of the National Nanotechnology Initiative Workshop June 16-18, 2005, Washington, D.C. About the National Nanotechnology Initiative The National Nanotechnology Initiative (NNI) is a coordinated Federal research and development program that brings together the expertise from twenty-five Federal agencies to guide and support advancement across the field of nanotechnology. The vision of the NNI is a future in which the ability to understand and control matter at the nanoscale leads to a revolution in technology and industry that benefits society. NNI agencies share goals, priorities, and strategies toward achieving this vision. The initiative is coordinated through the Nanoscale Science, Engineering, and Technology (NSET) Subcommittee of the Committee on Technology, National Science and Technology Council, with the administrative and technical support of the National Nanotechnology Coordination Office (NNCO). For more information on the NNI, the NSET Subcommittee, and the NNCO, see www.nano.gov. About this document This document is the report of a workshop held June 16-18, 2005 in Washington, DC. The workshop was organized by the U.S. Department of Energy, the National Science Foundation, and the National Institute of Standards and Technology, with assistance from the NNCO and the endorsement of the NSET Subcommittee. The workshop sought input from the research community on the use of x-ray and neutron techniques to advance nanoscale science, engineering, and technology. The workshop and this report are intended to further the research agenda of the sponsoring agencies and fulfill the goals of the National Nanotechnology Initiative by identifying research opportunities, stimulating interactions between academic, industrial, and government scientists, and identifying improvements to our national research infrastructure needed to best support research and development activities at the nanoscale in coming decades. Cover and book design Book design and layout by NNCO and Argonne National Laboratory staff members. Cover design by Nicolle Rager Fuller of Sayo-Art. Front cover: When confined inside carbon nanotubes, water can self-assemble into nano-ice with a double helical structure similar to DNA. The helical form of nano-ice was discovered by Dr. Cheng Zeng of the University of Nebraska-Lincoln’s (UNL), who used UNL’s PraireFire supercomputer to perform molecular dynamics simulations over a wide range of temperatures and pressures. Oxygen atoms are depicted as blue in the inner helix, purple in the outer helix. Hydrogen atoms are depicted as white and light blue. (Courtesy of the National Academy of Sciences, PNAS 103:19664 (2006). doi:10.1073/pnas.0608401104) Copyright information This document is a work of the United States Government and is in the public domain (see 17 USC §105). Subject to stipulations below, it may be distributed and copied., with acknowledgment to the U.S. Department of Energy and the National Nanotechnology Coordination Office (NNCO). Copyrights to portions of this report (including graphics) contributed by workshop participants and others are reserved by original copyright holders or their assignees, and are used here under the Government’s license or by permission. Requests to use any images must be made to the provider identified in the image credits, or to the NNCO if no provider is identified. Printed in the United States of America. 2008. X-rays and Neutrons: Essential Tools for Nanoscience Research Report of the National Nanotechnology Initiative Workshop June 16-18, 2005, Washington, D.C. Workshop Chairs Ian S. Anderson Oak Ridge National Laboratory Linda Horton Oak Ridge National Laboratory Eric Isaacs Argonne National Laboratory and University of Chicago Mark A. Ratner Northwestern University Sponsored by U. S. Department of Energy Office of Basic Energy Sciences National Institute of Standards and Technology NIST Center for Neutron Research National Science Foundation Division of Materials Research Acknowledgments The principal sponsors of this workshop were the U.S. Department of Energy, the National Science Foundation, and the National Institute of Standards and Technology. The sponsors gratefully acknowledge the contributions of the workshop organizers and session leaders, who are also the principal authors of this report. They also thank all workshop attendees for thoughtful presentations and for participating in the discussions that provide the scientific content and motivation for the report. Overall guidance for the workshop and report was provided by Kristin Bennett of the Office of Basic Energy Sciences, U.S. Department of Energy, and Philip Lippel of the National Nanotechnology Coordination Office. Thanks are also due to the National Science Foundation Divisions of Materials Research and Chemistry and the Joint Institute for Neutron Sciences for supporting the Early Career Poster Competition. The efforts of the organizing committee and administrative staff were essential in the planning and execution of the workshop. The sponsors wish to acknowledge special administrative assistance from: Linda Cerrone, U.S. Department of Energy, Office of Basic Energy Sciences Karen Talamini, U.S. Department of Energy, Office of Basic Energy Sciences Athena Jones, National Science Foundation (intern), Division of Materials Research Victor Turner, National Nanotechnology Coordination Office and the efforts of the organizing committee: Patrick Gallagher, National Institute of Standards and Technology, Center for Neutron Research Stephen Gould, National Nanotechnology Coordination Office Geoff Holdridge, National Nanotechnology Coordination Office Allen Ekkebus, Oak Ridge National Laboratory, Spallation Neutron Source Helen Kerch, U.S. Department of Energy, Office of Basic Energy Sciences Celia Merzbacher, Office of Science and Technology Policy Guebre X. Tessema, National Science Foundation, Division of Materials Research The workshop chairs would like to acknowledge writing and editorial assistance from Charlie Horak and the graphic illustration contributions from Renee Manning, both from the Spallation Neutron Source at Oak Ridge National Laboratory. The chairs would also like to acknowledge editorial and production assistance from Derrick Mancini from the Center for Nanoscale Materials; Richard Fenner and Marlene Nowotarski from the Advanced Photon Source; and Lorenza Salinas and Vicki Skonicki from the Technical Services Division, all at Argonne National Laboratory, and from Jacqueline Ruttimann for WTEC. Finally, the sponsors would like to thank the members of the National Science and Technology Council’s Subcommittee on Nanoscale Science, Engineering, and Technology for endorsing the workshop. This workshop was sponsored by the U.S. Department of Energy, the National Science Foundation, and the National Institute of Standards and Technology, and endorsed by the National Science and Technology Council’s Subcommittee on Nanoscale Science, Engineering, and Technology. Any opinion, findings, and conclusions or recommendations expressed in this material are those of the authors and do not necessarily reflect the views of the United States Government or the authors’ parent institutions. Preface In order to advance knowledge and improve understanding in the fields of nanoscale science, engineering, and technology, and to promote their application for the benefit of the nation, the Government of the United States supports an interdisciplinary program in nanoscience, nanoengineering, and nanotechnology coordinated across several agencies. The President’s 2006 budget provided over $1 billion for this multidisciplinary National Nanotechnology Initiative (NNI). The goals of the NNI are as follows: • advance a world-class nanotechnology research and development (R&D) program • foster the transfer of new technologies into products for commercial and public benefit • develop and sustain educational resources, a skilled workforce, and the supporting research infrastructure and tools to advance nanotechnology • support responsible development of nanotechnology This document, reporting on the NNI workshop X-rays and Neutrons: Essential Tools for Nanoscience Research, attempts to help the NNI community meet these goals, especially by contributing to the multiagency effort to strengthen the nation’s infrastructure for nanoscience research. The concept for the workshop was developed by the meeting sponsors—the U.S. Department of Energy, the National Science Foundation, and the National Institute of Standards and Technology, in consultation with all members of the Nanoscale Science, Engineering, and Technology Subcommittee of the National Science and Technology Council—to support long-range planning efforts for the NNI. Stimulated in part by an earlier NNI workshop, Instrumentation and Metrology for Nanotechnology, the sponsors identified a need to better articulate the relationship between ongoing U.S. efforts in x-ray and neutron science and the research and development