It sure would clear up a lot of mysteries. *http://users.ox.ac.uk/~dgbuck/people/bucknall/research/NR.htm*<http://users.ox.ac.uk/~dgbuck/people/bucknall/research/NR.htm>
"Neutron reflection provides the composition variation normal to the surface of the polymer film, with an accuracy on a sub-nanometer length scale. This kind of information is also given by X-ray reflectivity and to some degree also by light ellipsometry, however the neutron scores over these other radiation sources in two important respects. Firstly, there is the favourable difference in scattering properties between elements and isotopes of elements. With X-rays contrast between different regions of the sample is provided by the electron density difference between molecules, whilst for light it is the refractive index. The analogue for neutrons is the neutron scattering cross section. Across the periodic table, this scattering cross section appears to be not only of random magnitude, but also of sign and varies even between isotopes of a specific element. For the polymer scientist the neutron is of particular interest because hydrogen and deuterium have vastly different neutron cross sections. This means that with a little careful chemistry deuteration can open up a huge area of unique experimental possibilities.Deuteration is therefore an ideal labelling technique to highlight whole molecules or specific sections of the polymer and produce a large contrast variation with the normal hydrogenous molecules around it."
