New study could help unlock ‘game-changing’ batteries for electric vehicles and aviation

Mechanisms revealed that cause lithium metal solid-state batteries to fail

09-Jun-2023 - Significantly improved electric vehicle (EV) batteries could be a step closer thanks to a new study led by University of Oxford researchers, published in Nature. Using advanced imaging techniques, this revealed mechanisms which cause lithium metal solid-state batteries (Li-SSBs) to fail. If these ...

Cryo-imaging lifts the lid on fuel cell catalyst layers

First insights into the nanostructure of platinum catalyst layers

27-Apr-2023 - Thanks to a novel combination of cryogenic transmission electron tomography and deep learning, EPFL researchers have provided a first look at the nanostructure of platinum catalyst layers, revealing how they could be optimized for fuel cell efficiency. Proton-exchange membrane fuel cells (PEMFC), ...

Tomography shows high potential of copper sulphide solid-state batteries

Processes during charging and discharging observed

30-Nov-2022 - Solid-state batteries enable even higher energy densities than lithium-ion batteries with high safety. A team led by Prof. Philipp Adelhelm and Dr. Ingo Manke succeeded in observing a solid-state battery during charging and discharging and creating high-resolution 3D images. This showed that ...

The color play of mineral resources

Finding rare earths: Dr. René Booysen receives the L'Oréal-UNESCO Prize for Women in Science for her exploration research

08-Nov-2022 - Dr. René Booysen researches the exploration of mineral deposits. At the Helmholtz Institute Freiberg for Resource Technology (HIF), belonging to the Helmholtz-Zentrum Dresden-Rossendorf (HZDR), she develops sensor-based exploration techniques to identify resources in a non-invasive way. Each ...

Nanomaterial from the Middle Ages

Unlocking the secrets of Zwischgold

12-Oct-2022 - To gild sculptures in the late Middle Ages, artists often applied ultra-thin gold foil supported by a silver base layer. For the first time, scientists at the Paul Scherrer Institute PSI have managed to produce nanoscale 3D images of this material, known as Zwischgold. The pictures show this was ...

Scientists create luminescent gels with multitude of applications from counterfeiting to bio-sensing

15-Jun-2022 - Scientists from Trinity College Dublin have taken inspiration from nature to create luminescent, self-healing gels with a suite of potential applications ranging from bank note counterfeiting to next-gen bio-sensing and imaging. Crucially, the scientists have been able to introduce guanosine (a ...

Super-resolved imaging of a single cold atom on a nanosecond timescale

Scientists have made important progress in the research of cold atom super-resolution imaging

10-Jan-2022 - The teamofacademician GUO Guangcan ofUniversity of Science and Technology of China (USTC) of the Chinese Academy of Scienceshas made important progress in the research of cold atom super-resolution imaging. The team achieved super-resolution imaging of a single ion inanion trap system. The ...

Scientists capture electron transfer image in electrocatalysis process

In-situ electrochemical imaging method with nanoscale spatial resolution combined atomic force microscopy and scanning electrochemical imaging

03-Dec-2021 - The involvement between electron transfer (ET) and catalytic reaction at electrocatalyst surface makes electrochemical process challenging to understand and control. How to experimentally determine ET process occurring at nanoscale is important to understand the overall electrochemical reaction ...

Chemistry discovery could remove micropollutants from environment

Researchers made an unexpected breakthrough discovery

20-Jul-2021 - Using a pioneering imaging technique, Cornell University researchers obtained a high-resolution snapshot of how ligands, molecules that bind to other molecules or metals, interact with the surface of nanoparticles. In doing so, they made an unexpected breakthrough discovery. They determined that ...

The hidden culprit killing lithium-metal batteries from the inside

First-of-their-kind snapshots reveal byproduct crippling powerful, experimental cells

16-Jul-2021 - For decades, scientists have tried to make reliable lithium-metal batteries. These high-performance storage cells hold 50% more energy than their prolific, lithium-ion cousins, but higher failure rates and safety problems like fires and explosions have crippled commercialization efforts. ...