Confinement-induced local nuclear dynamics of protons in benzene confined in MCM-41.

VESUVIO is a unique neutron beamline enabling critical appraisal of confinement-induced local nuclear chemical dynamics in condensed matter and molecular systems. Due to reduced dimensionality and large surface and interface effects, liquids that are subjected to some geometric constraints on the nanoscale can have different properties to those they display under standard bulk conditions. We have found that the nanoscale confinement of benzene has a major effect on the spatial and orientational correlations observed between the molecules when compared with the structure of the bulk liquid. These differences are most marked for molecules in parallel configurations, and this suggests differences in chemical reactivity between the confined and bulk liquids. In order to extend the aforementioned research methodology and capitalise on the direct link between the local structure and dynamics of confined molecular liquid species, in this proposal, we would like to employ the full functionality of the VESUVIO beamline to measure concurrently incident neutron energy-dependant sample transmission (NT), and atom-resolved neutron Compton scattering (NCS) in two isotopologues, benzene and benzene-d6, as well as in benzene and benzene-d6 both confined in the pores of a Pt/MCM-41 catalyst.