Ultrafast dissociation of molecules studied at BESSY II

Findings could deepen our understanding of chemical reactions at the molecular level

04-Dec-2024 - For the first time, an international team has tracked at BESSY II how heavy molecules – in this case bromochloromethane – disintegrate into smaller fragments when they absorb X-ray light. Using a newly developed analytical method, they were able to visualise the ultrafast dynamics of this ...

Data-Boost for New Catalysts and Chemical Reactions

A Europe-wide network enables graduate education in modern data-driven methods for the development of catalytic reactions

24-Sep-2024 - March 2025 marks the begin of a new „Marie-Skłodowska-Curie doctoral network” titled “CATALOOP - Closing the loop in stereoselective catalysis with data-driven approaches”. This collaborative networks brings together twelve research groups from all over Europe from the fields of catalyst research ...

Superior light-to-chemical energy conversion with Coulombic dyads

Scientists established a novel photocatalyst class that uses precious metals more efficiently

13-Sep-2024 - Inspired by nature's photosynthesis, photocatalysts use light to trigger a chemical reaction that would otherwise only occur at high temperatures or under harsh conditions. For this concept to be widely applicable in an economical fashion, the quantum efficiency of the light-induced ...

New 'Chiral Vortex' of Light Reveals Molecular Mirror Images

The entirely new structure of light could help drug developers see their work more clearly than before

05-Sep-2024 - An entirely new structure of light is helping to measure chirality in molecules more accurately and robustly than ever before, in a major potential step for the medicine. The study published in Nature Photonics was led by the Max Born Institute in collaboration with King’s College London, ...

When copper becomes transparent

European XFEL creates exotic matter

31-Jul-2024 - Experiments at European XFEL generate states of matter close to what occurs in the interior of planets or in the imploding capsule of an inertial fusion reactor. At the same time, they open up a way to measure ultra-short phenomena. Exploring the extreme conditions reached in the interior of ...

Concept for more efficient precious metal catalysts

New approach for the production of resource-saving catalysts uses different interactions of precious metals with different carrier materials

26-Jul-2024 - More than 90 percent of all chemical products in our everyday lives use a catalyst in the course of their production. Catalysts make chemical reactions faster, can reduce their energy consumption and make some reactions possible in the first place. Researchers at the Karlsruhe Institute of ...

Chemistry by type of stew

Can it be so easy to combine very different substances in a "one-pot synthesis" to create a new class of materials?

05-Jul-2024 - Chemists at the University of Konstanz describe how they have made a very unusual reaction possible. An old dream of mankind is to combine the best of two worlds: to bring together the advantages of two opposing things without having to accept their disadvantages. This old dream is also being ...

Why do just one experiment at a time when you can do ten?

Synthetic fuels and chemicals from CO₂: Ten experiments in parallel

28-Jun-2024 - Empa researchers have developed an automated system, which allows them to research catalysts, electrodes, and reaction conditions for CO₂ electrolysis up to ten times faster. The system is complemented by an open-source software for data analysis. If you mix fossil fuel with a little oxygen and ...

Watching energy materials as they form

Eyes glued to a live transmission from inside a reaction vessel, researchers watch chemical reactions at work

20-Jun-2024 - Shooting a movie in the lab requires special equipment. Especially when the actors are molecules – invisible to the naked eye – reacting with each other. “Imagine trying to film tiny lava flows during a volcanic eruption. Your smartphone camera wouldn’t be up to the job. First, you’d need to ...

MXenes for energy storage: Chemical imaging more than just surface deep

19-Jun-2024 - A new method in spectromicroscopy significantly improves the study of chemical reactions at the nanoscale, both on surfaces and inside layered materials. Scanning X-ray microscopy (SXM) at MAXYMUS beamline of BESSY II enables the investigation of chemical species adsorbed on the top layer ...