Triphenylmethane, a possible moderator material

• Triphenylmethane as a potential moderator material is discussed.
• Parallel theoretical and experimental approach.
• Possibly very useful for cold neutrons.

New challenges in neutron scattering result in an increased demand in novel moderator concepts. The most direct way to address the problem would be to change the moderator material itself. However the range of available neutron moderator materials is small. In this paper, we discuss triphenylmethane, a possible moderator material especially promising for cold neutron moderator applications. Our investigations include a parallel experimental and theoretical approach ranging from cross-section measurements and inelastic neutron spectroscopy to molecular modeling.