For centuries, scientists have harnessed the power of catalysts—reusable substances that drive chemical reactions with greater efficiency and control. Though it may not always be apparent, catalysts are woven into our daily lives, from enzymes that make life possible, to catalytic converters in cars, to ingredients in household products. By lowering energy consumption, minimising by-products and reducing pollution, catalysts can provide important economic, environmental and societal benefits.

Today, as environmental challenges intensify, the demand for sustainable materials and processes is more pressing than ever. Catalysts play a crucial role in this effort, supporting the production of cleaner fuels and recyclable plastics, and enabling the conversion of waste, such as carbon dioxide, into valuable products.

To develop more efficient catalysts, scientists are investigating how they work at the atomic level. Advanced characterisation techniques like neutron scattering provide a unique perspective on catalytic processes and insights for developing new and improved catalyst systems.

​​​Advancing UK catalysis research

Established in 2013 at the Rutherford Appleton Laboratory (RAL) in Oxfordshire, the UK Catalysis Hub fosters research, innovation and collaboration in catalytic science. Led by teams from University College London (UCL) alongside the Universities of Bath, Cardiff, Belfast and Manchester, the Hub has grown to include over 40 collaborating institutions. In 2025, it secured a third wave of funding from the Engineering and Physical Sciences Research Council (EPSRC). This funding supports research across four key themes: Net Zero, sustainability, digital chemistry and advanced characterisation.

The UK Catalysis Hub is located in the Research Complex at Harwell. Image credit: UK Catalysis Hub

For over a decade, the UK Catalysis Hub has helped address key challenges in the development and application of catalysts in areas such as biofuel production, water purification, clean air and clean hydrogen production. To support these efforts, the Hub provides a nexus for catalyst research, where state-of-the-art laboratories meet major national research facilities to accelerate breakthroughs in catalytic science and reinforce the UK's leadership in the field.

One such large-scale facility is the ISIS Neutron and Muon Source (ISIS), a world-leading centre for research in the physical and life sciences based at RAL. ISIS generates beams of neutrons and muons that allow scientists to study materials at the atomic level. Each year, ISIS hosts around 3,000 researchers from the UK and worldwide, who use its 35+ specialised instruments for a wide range of research, including chemistry, physics, engineering, life sciences and cultural heritage.

“The linkage of the UK Catalysis Hub and the ISIS Neutron and Muon Facility has been beneficial for both parties, in that the collaboration has enabled new avenues in heterogeneous catalysis research to be explored. I hold the view that the ISIS facility is world-leading in terms of the application of inelastic neutron scattering to investigate heterogeneous catalysts. The location of the UK Catalysis Hub then enables personnel from the Hub to undertake detailed testing and characterisation procedures using conventional analytical methods but then to take their samples along to ISIS for more detailed inspection."

Prof David Lennon, Professor of Physical Chemistry, University of Glasgow

 

The UK Catalysis Hub and the ISIS Neutron and Muon Source are both located at the Rutherford Appleton Laboratory in Oxfordshire.

In recent decades, the capabilities and applications of neutron techniques for catalysis research have expanded significantly, allowing scientists to study catalyst structure and reaction dynamics in greater detail and under increasingly realistic conditions. A key driver of this progress has been the collaboration between the UK Catalysis Hub and ISIS.

“The use of neutrons to understand heterogenous catalytic systems in real-world industrial processes was extremely rare before the Catalysis Hub came along."
Dr Alex O'Malley, Lecturer, Department of Chemistry, University of Bath

​Neutrons are particularly well suited for studying catalysts due to their sensitivity to light elements like hydrogen, nitrogen and carbon—key reactive species in many catalytic reactions. Neutron scattering enables researchers to examine these lighter elements even in the presence of heavier ones, making catalyst supports and containers effectively "invisible."

Another advantage of neutrons is their ability to penetrate deep into materials. Where X-rays interact with an atom's electron cloud, neutrons interact with atomic nuclei, allowing them to probe the bulk of a catalyst sample, even when confined within complex experimental setups. This is particularly useful for studying catalysts under realistic conditions, including high-pressure and high-temperature environments. Additionally, neutron scattering is non-destructive and so does not damage the catalyst or its surrounding environment.

Neutrons are also sensitive to isotopes, enabling researchers to perform isotopic substitution—for instance, replacing hydrogen with deuterium—to isolate specific components of a catalytic system. This can be used to unravel individual reaction steps and provide deeper insights into catalytic mechanisms. The Deuteration Laboratory at ISIS, which supplies deuterated compounds to the UK neutron community, is an important resource for undertaking these complex experiments.

​“Catalysis is a critical area of science, especially with growing environmental challenges and the shift towards green chemistry. The ISIS Deuteration Facility is currently developing methods to create deuterated materials specifically for catalysis research."
Dr June McCorquodale, ISIS Deuteration Facility Operations Manager, ISIS Neutron and Muon Source

The Deuteration Laboratory at the ISIS Neutron and Muon Source is an important resource that provides specialist compounds for the ​UK research community.

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Research collaborations

For many years, researchers from the UK Catalysis Hub and the ISIS Neutron and Muon Source have collaborated on a diverse range of projects with scientific and industrial significance. The examples below give an idea of the wide-ranging research undertaken through the collaboration.

“Access to central large-scale facilities was one of the key drivers for locating the Catalysis Hub at RAL. Through the Hub, ISIS has been able to demonstrate the value of neutron scattering to the wider UK catalysis community. A striking success has been the use of quasielastic neutron scattering (QENS) to study how industrially important molecules, such as methanol, move through a zeolite. The use of total scattering methods to follow catalytic reactions in porous materials and neutron vibrational spectroscopy to study the methanol-to-hydrocarbons reaction (a potentially green route to gasoline and key platform chemicals such as propene) are notable successes. But there is still much that neutrons can do for catalytic science: neutron imaging and neutron powder diffraction both offer the possibility to study catalysts under real working conditions."

Prof Stewart Parker, Instrument Scientist, ISIS Neutron and Muon Source

Tracking hydrogen movement in catalysts

Researchers from UCL, ISIS, the University of Glasgow and industrial partners Johnson Matthey and Evonik used neutron imaging to observe hydrogen adsorption and absorption in a palladium-on-carbon (Pd/C) catalyst during hydrogenation. The technique allowed researchers to track hydrogen movement through the catalyst in real time, demonstrating neutron imaging's potential for catalyst studies.

​Reducing vehicle emissions with ammonia catalysts

Researchers from UCL, ISIS and Johnson Matthey studied ammonia diffusion in copper-chabazite catalysts used for selective catalytic reduction (SCR) of nitrogen oxide emissions. Using QENS and molecular dynamics simulations, the team gained insights into molecular transport within the catalyst to help optimise its use in reducing vehicle emissions.

“Catalyst research is a significant and growing part of the ISIS research portfolio, particularly in QENS. Researchers from the Catalysis Hub have received training from ISIS, and innovative proposals have emerged from informal discussions."
Dr Ian Silverwood, Instrument Scientist, ISIS Neutron and Muon Source

In 2016, the Royal Society of Chemistry journal, Physical Chemistry Chemical Physics, published a themed collection titled Neutron Scattering in Catalysis and Energy Materials, highlighting work at ISIS. Image reproduced from Phys. Chem. Chem. Phys., 2016,18, 17159-17168 with permission from the PCCP Owner Societies.​

​Improving methanol conversion for cleaner fuels

Neutron techniques have been instrumental in studying zeolite catalysts like ZSM-5, which is widely used in converting methanol to hydrocarbons. QENS enabled researchers from Johnson Matthey, ISIS, the Universities of Glasgow and Aberdeen and the UK Catalysis Hub to understand how coke formation—a common degradation process—affects molecular diffusion within catalyst pores. These insights help develop catalysts that are more efficient and resistant to degradation.

“I had two Industrial CASE students engaged in challenging research projects centred around the application of neutron scattering methods to interrogate aspects of zeolite catalysis. Both students were housed at the UK Catalysis Hub, where they were part of a cohort of PhD students exploring a range of exciting topics in catalytic science.  Via a methodology that involved detailed catalyst characterisation procedures undertaken primarily within the UK Catalysis Hub, followed by neutron-based measurements performed at ISIS, the students' ultimate experimental portfolios possessed distinction in terms of novelty of approach and breadth of new understanding.  Due to the support of the projects' industrial partner (Johnson Matthey), the topics selected for investigation had real connectivity to the chemical manufacturing sector"

Prof David Lennon, Professor of Physical Chemistry, University of Glasgow​​​

Optimising production of materials for everyday products

Methyl methacrylate (MMA) is a key component in products like furniture and mobile phone screens. A study by researchers from ISIS and the Universities of Glasgow and Oxford investigated methyl propanoate adsorption on silica catalysts used in MMA production. Inelastic neutron scattering (INS) was used to explore the interaction between the catalyst and the reactant, offering valuable insights into the surface interactions that drive the modern industrial process for MMA production.​​

Studying the diffusion of lignin derivatives to optimise catalysts for sustainable fuel production

Biomass—a renewable carbon-based feedstock—could reduce our reliance on crude oil, but converting lignin, its major component, into useful products remains challenging. Acidic zeolites may enable us to use existing infrastructure for lignin conversion, provided we understand zeolite-lignin interactions, especially diffusion and adsorption. PhD student Katie Morton and collaborators from the UK Catalysis Hub, University of Bath, ISIS and the Institut Laue Langevin (ILL) used neutron scattering and molecular dynamics simulations to study the diffusion of lignin derivatives in various zeolites, highlighting the importance of studying diffusion across different length/time scales.

​Dr Katie Morton, Researcher, University of Bath

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The future of neutron catalyst research

The use of neutron spectroscopy techniques in catalysis research is continuing to grow and is increasingly integrated with other characterisation techniques, such as X-ray methods, nuclear magnetic resonance and computational approaches like molecular dynamics. This multidisciplinary approach is revolutionising catalyst characterisation and development, enabling researchers to tackle some of the most pressing scientific and industrial challenges.

“I see a bright future with closer interactions between neutrons, X-rays and theoretical work, where complex puzzles are solved using multiple techniques."
Dr Matthew Potter, Prize Fellow, University of Bath

​Nevertheless, awareness of neutron sources among catalysis researchers remains limited and so initiatives from the UK Catalysis Hub and ISIS—such as undergraduate training programmes and pairing schemes—are actively bridging this gap. As more scientists and industries recognise the unique benefits of neutron techniques, their adoption will grow, driving even greater innovation.

With continuous advances in technology, experimental methods and sample environments, neutron scattering will undoubtedly play an increasing role in catalysis research. The announcement of Phase III funding of the Catalysis Hub, which has been welcomed by the research community, presents further opportunities to strengthen the partnership with ISIS and provide researchers with the tools and expertise needed to accelerate the development of catalysts that deliver innovative solutions to important industrial and environmental challenges.

“The UK Catalysis Hub community have been enthusiastic users of ISIS facilities as they afford unique insights into the behaviour of catalytic materials and processes. They will continue to play an important role in this 3^rd phase of the Hub as we endeavour to create more sustainable technologies and processes."

Prof Andrew Beale, UCL and Deputy Director, UK Catalysis Hub​​​