SURFACE MELTING - NEUTRON-SCATTERING STUDIES OF MOLECULAR FILMS

Neutron diffraction and quasielastic scattering are well-suited techniques for surface melting studies. Indeed, they allow measurements of disorder and translational diffusion in the quasi-liquid layer which intervenes at the solid-vapour interface (surface) of a crystal, when the bulk melting temperature is approached. The principal results of neutron scattering studies of van der Waals films deposited on powdered graphite and MgO substrates are reviewed.