Ultracold neutron storage in a bottle coated with the fluoropolymer CYTOP

The fluoropolymer CYTOP was investigated in order to evaluate its suitability as a coating material for ultracold neutron (UCN) storage vessels. Using neutron reflectometry on CYTOP-coated silicon wafers, its neutron optical potential was measured to be 115.2(2) neV. UCN storage measurements were carried out in a 3.8 l CYTOP-coated aluminum bottle, in which the storage time constant was found to increase from 311(9) s at room temperature to 564(7) s slightly above 10 K. By combining experimental storage data with simulations of the UCN source, the neutron loss factor of CYTOP is estimated to decrease from 1.1(1) × 10^-4 to 2.7(2) × 10^-5 at these temperatures, respectively. These results are of particular importance to the next-generation superthermal UCN source SuperSUN, currently under construction at the Institut Laue-Langevin, for which CYTOP is a possible top-surface coating in the UCN production volume.