Visualising the Invisible: Active Sites in Antibacterial Nanomaterials

Fluorescence lifetime microscopy has great potential to systematically enhance the effectivenes of antibacterial nanomaterials

20-Dec-2024 - Interest in antibacterial nanomaterials has surged due to the growing threat of antibiotic-resistant microbes. A particularly promising strategy involves the use of nanomaterials that generate reactive oxygen species upon exposure to light, effectively combating microorganisms. However, a key ...

New general manager at Oxford Instruments WITec in Ulm

18-Dec-2024 - The next era has begun at Oxford Instruments WITec, where Dr. Benjamin Tordoff is leading the Raman imaging microscopy pioneers after taking over from the company's founders. Dr. Benjamin Tordoff joined Oxford Instruments WITec this summer, though the company and its exceptional technology that ...

Controlling matter at the atomic level: University of Bath breakthrough

Physicists are getting closer to controlling single-molecule chemical reactions – could this shape the future of pharmaceutical research?

09-Dec-2024 - Controlling matter at the atomic level has taken a major step forward, thanks to groundbreaking nanotechnology research by an international team of scientists led by physicists at the University of Bath. This advancement has profound implications for fundamental scientific understanding. It is ...

Unique X-ray microscope paves the way to more powerful batteries

New insights into the morphological and chemical changes in battery materials

21-Nov-2024 - New cathode materials are being developed to further increase the capacity of lithium batteries. Multilayer lithium-rich transition metal oxides (LRTMOs) offer particularly high energy density. However, their capacity decreases with each charging cycle due to structural and chemical changes. ...

Surprise at the grain boundary

For the first time, an international research team has been able to observe how solute elements introduce new grain boundary phases using state-of-the-art microscopy and simulation techniques

31-Oct-2024 - Using state-of-the-art microscopy and simulation techniques, an international research team systematically observed how iron atoms alter the structure of grain boundaries in titanium. They were in for a surprise: “Iron atoms not only segregate to the interface, but they form entirely unexpected ...

Mechanism of Cobalt-Manganese Catalysts Deciphered

Combination of different methods was the key to success

22-Oct-2024 - The energy carrier hydrogen can be obtained from water by electrolysis. This works particularly well with Cobalt spinel electrocatalysts containing manganese. However, it was unclear why. Conventional catalysts for hydrogen production via water electrolysis usually contain precious metals and are ...

Energy Portrait: Capturing a Molecule's Moment of Excitement

30-Sep-2024 - Researchers at the University of Regensburg in collaboration with IBM Research Europe - Zurich have found a way to access excited states of single molecules and determine their energies. A very fundamental property of atoms and molecules are the energies, at which electrons can be added to or ...

The insulator unraveled

Scientists have uncovered the detailed structure of the aluminum oxide surface, a challenge that has baffled researchers for decades

18-Sep-2024 - Aluminum oxide (Al2O3), also known as alumina, corundum, sapphire, or ruby, is one of the best insulators used in a wide range of applications: in electronic components, as a support material for catalysts, or as a chemically resistant ceramic, to name a few. Knowledge of the precise arrangement ...

How much microplastic are you drinking?

New tool can tell you in minutes

29-Aug-2024 - Micro- and nanoplastics are in our food, water and the air we breathe. They are showing up in our bodies, from testicles to brain matter. Now, University of British Columbiaresearchers have developed a low-cost, portable tool to accurately measure plastic released from everyday sources like ...

Researchers reveal atomic-scale details of catalysts’ active sites

New technique from the CNSI at UCLA may lead to design approaches that optimize the performance of chemical reactions

09-Aug-2024 - The chemical and energy industries depend upon catalysts to drive the reactions used to create their products. Many important reactions use heterogeneous catalysts — meaning that the catalysts are in a different phase of matter than the substances they are reacting with, such as solid platinum ...