First-ever X-ray attosecond experiment on liquids provides new insights into water’s molecular properties

Theorists explain how X-ray measurement freezes hydrogen motion, with implications on other areas of chemistry

19-Feb-2024 - An international team has performed an attosecond-scale experiment at an X-ray free-electron laser on liquid water for the first time, and the results may change our interpretation of water’s behaviour. The experiment team, led by scientist Linda Young from Argonne National Laboratory in the US, ...

New technique paves way for imaging individual molecules

Pioneering experiment exploits quantum properties of X-ray light

04-May-2023 - An international research team has succeeded for the first time in using X-rays for an imaging technique that exploits a particular quantum property of light. As the researchers describe in their work just published in the journal Physical Review Letters, this technique could enable imaging of ...

Surface imaging technique illuminates potential improvements in plastics production

DESY's free-electron laser FLASH shows chemical changes in surfaces

24-Aug-2022 - Consider the humble plastic food wrapper. It may seem like a simple clear film that wraps a loaf of bread or fruit gummies, but these films are less simply composed as it seems.Each individual layer must be chemically treated so that it adheres well to the next. In their efforts to adapt an ...

Molecule snapshot by explosion

Important step for filming chemical reactions

23-Feb-2022 - Exploding a photo subject in order to take its picture? An international research team at the world's largest X-ray laser, the European XFEL, used this “extreme” method to take pictures of complex molecules. With the ultra-bright X-ray flashes generated by the facility, the scientists were able ...

FLASH reveals ultrafast dynamics of photocatalysis

Free electron laser study sheds light on the mechanism and timescale of the photocatalytic oxidation of carbon monoxide on titanium oxide

30-Nov-2020 - An international team of scientists have studied, for the first time, the light induced oxidation of carbon monoxide (CO) to carbon dioxide (CO2) on the surface of an oxide photocatalyst in real-time using the soft X-ray free-electron laser FLASH combined with theoretical calculations. According ...

Liquid water at 170 degrees Celsius

X-ray laser reveals anomalous dynamics at ultra-fast heating

18-Sep-2020 - Using the X-ray laser European XFEL, a research team has investigated how water heats up under extreme conditions. In the process, the scientists were able to observe water that remained liquid even at temperatures of more than 170 degrees Celsius. The investigation revealed an anomalous dynamic ...

How molecular footballs burst in an X-ray laser beam

Study shows effect of X-ray flashes on sensitive biomolecules

26-Sep-2019 - An international research team has observed in real time how football molecules made of carbon atoms burst in the beam of an X-ray laser. The study shows the temporal course of the bursting process, which takes less than a trillionth of a second, and is important for the analysis of sensitive ...

Grazing light for rapid events

“X-ray streaking” allows ultrafast processes to be followed using a single pulse of light

02-Jan-2018 - An international team of scientists has developed a new experimental method at the FLASH X-ray laser which allows the sequence of events involved in a process to be observed using a single, ultrashort pulse of light from FLASH. Their method is called “X-ray streaking” and enables researchers to ...

Prestigious grant for imaging single molecules

Human Frontier Science Program supports intercontinental collaboration

27-Apr-2017 - An international team of researchers, including DESY scientist Henry Chapman, has been awarded a research grant by the Human Frontier Science Program to develop a novel method for imaging individual biomolecules with atomic resolution. The team will receive a total of 1.35 million US-Dollars over ...

Particle accelerator for the European XFEL X-ray laser operational

20-Apr-2017 - The international X-ray laser European XFEL has reached one of its final major milestones on the way to scientific user operation. DESY has successfully commissioned the particle accelerator, which drives the X-ray laser along its full length.It is the world’s largest superconducting linear ...