Neutrons and materials for energy (Preface)

JDN21 - 21emes journées de la diffusion neutronique : Neutrons and Materials for energyInternational audienceThe French Neutron Society (SFN) traditionally organizes annually a thematic school on a particular aspect of neutron scattering techniques. The school “NEUTRONS AND MATERIALS FOR ENERGY", held from 21th to 25th June 2013 in Sète in the South of France, during the 21th edition of the “Journées de la diffusion Neutronique”, focused on the use of neutron scattering to characterize materials in the wide field of energy storage and transformation. The development of new materials for energy is one of the major challenges of this century and is based largely on a thorough understanding of the origins of multi-scale properties. Neutron scattering, with its ability to probe matter from the atomic to the macroscopic scale, contributes significantly to this objective. This school was open to researchers from academic research centers but also from R&D industry laboratories, who wish to learn and explore the capabilities of neutrons to contribute to knowledge in the field of materials for energy production and energy storageThis book is a compilation of the lectures given during the school by experts in each discipline. It covers global aspects of materials for energy technologies highlighting the importance of neutron scattering for their technological characterization, followed by more specific readings, such as diffraction, Small Angle Neutron Scattering and reflectometry, inelastic neutron scattering and imaging. The use of emergent Pair Distribution Function in crystallography is also illustrated. All these chapters will contribute to help "non-specialists" researchers to access more easily to different neutron scattering techniques.This book is thus intended not only to teachers, researchers and students, but also to industrials who wish to access more easily to different neutron scattering technique