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. ...

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 ...

Microplastics in soil: Tomography with neutrons and X-rays shows where particles lay in soil

21-Nov-2023 - It really is a problem: Microplastics are everywhere. Now, an HZB and University Potsdam team developed a method that for the first time enables us to precisely localise microplastics in soil. The 3D tomography shows exactly the location of particles and the change in structure of the soil – ...

A miniature magnetic resonance imager made of diamond

Quantum sensors make microscale NMR spectroscopy possible

23-Oct-2023 - The development of tumors begins with miniscule changes within the body's cells; ion diffusion at the smallest scales is decisive in the performance of batteries. Until now the resolution of conventional imaging methods has not been high enough to represent these processes in detail. A research ...

Nanoparticles drill holes at will in silicon

Industrially usable technique for producing porous silicon and glass opens up fresh perspectives for numerous applications

21-Feb-2023 - A Hamburg-based research team has developed a new method for producing a network of large to very fine pores in silicon and glass. At DESY’s X-ray source PETRA III, scientists led by DESY researchers Stella Gries and Patrick Huber were able to analyse the porosity using X-ray tomography. The ...

Catalyst surface analysed at atomic resolution

Particles observed during the catalysis process

12-Jan-2022 - Catalyst surfaces have rarely been imaged in such detail before. And yet, every single atom can play a decisive role in catalytic activity. A German-Chinese research team has visualised the three-dimensional structure of the surface of catalyst nanoparticles at atomic resolution. This structure ...

A sharper look at the interior of semiconductors

A research team is developing a high-resolution imaging technique that can be used to determine internal structures in materials and their chemical composition in a non-destructive manner and with nanometre precision

19-Feb-2021 - Images provide information – what we can observe with our own eyes enables us to understand. Constantly expanding the field of perception into dimensions that are initially hidden from the naked eye, drives science forward. Today, increasingly powerful microscopes let us see into the cells and ...

Using neutrons and X-rays to analyse the ageing of lithium batteries

11-Feb-2020 - An international team has used neutron and X-ray tomography to investigate the dynamic processes that lead to capacity degradation at the electrodes in lithium batteries. Using a new mathematical method, it was possible to virtually unwind electrodes that had been wound into the form of a compact ...

Gum metals pave the way for new applications

Scientists discover peculiarities in crystal structure of titanium alloy

02-Feb-2017 - Metals which can be bent as gum pave the way for new industrial applications for example in the aerospace industry. These so-called gum metals exist but the mechanism behind this behaviour was still unsettled and thus difficult to be used for applications. Scientists from the Max-Planck-Institut ...

Nano-beads for the steel forge

The crystal structure of metals can change at linear defects

17-Dec-2015 - Steel has already been around for roughly 3000 years and in several thousand variations today - yet it is always good for a surprise. Scientists at the Max-Planck-Institut für Eisenforschung in Düsseldorf have now made a discovery in manganese steel which is thought to affect the properties of ...