HZB and ANSTO have extended their Memorandum of Understanding
ANSTO: Adi Paterson and Simone Richter, HZB: Prof Anke Kaysser-Pyzalla and Thomas Frederking. © ANSTO
Advancing energy materials research together
The heads of the HZB and the Australian Nuclear Science and Technology Organisation (ANSTO) recently have considerably extended the Memorandum of Understanding existing between the two institutions since 2015. They intend to further enhance their cooperation particularly in the area of energy materials research.
The memorandum comprises agreements on the exchange of personnel, advanced training, and reciprocal access to instruments located at the large-scale facilities of ANSTO and the HZB. The Australian Nuclear Science and Technology Organisation (ANSTO) research hub is located near Sydney, operating a synchrotron source as well as other infrastructures including the OPAL research reactor and Australian Centre for Neutron Scattering. ANSTO will be taking over the BioRef-Reflektometer for conducting research on soft matter and solid-state/liquid interfaces from BER II, the Berlin-based neutron source that will be shut down at the end of 2019. It will be available to the user community beginning 2018 under the name “Spatz” (German for “sparrow”). ANSTO is also active in the field of accelerator research, one in which HZB has likewise attained an international reputation.
Moreover, HZB has enhanced its collaboration with other leading Australian institutions. In summer 2016, Monash University appointed three HZB scientists from the field of energy materials research as adjunct professors.
More Information on ANSTO: http://www.ansto.gov.au
- BESSY II: How intrinsic oxygen shortens the lifespan of solid-state batteriesAlthough solid-state batteries (SSBs) demonstrate high performance and are intrinsically safe, their capacity currently declines rapidly. A team from the TU Wien, Humboldt-University Berlin and HZB has now analysed a TiS₂|Li₃YCl₆ solid-state half-cell in operando at BESSY II using a special sample environment that allows for non-destructive investigation under real operating conditions. Data obtained by combination of soft and hard X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS and HAXPES) revealed a new degradation mechanism that had not previously been identified in solid-state batteries. They have gained some surprising insights, particularly regarding the harmful role played by intrinsic oxygen. This study provides valuable information for improving design and handling of such batteries.
- Spintronics at BESSY II: Real-time analysis of magnetic bilayer systemsSpintronic devices enable data processing with significantly lower energy consumption. They are based on the interaction between ferromagnetic and antiferromagnetic layers. Now, a team from Freie Universität Berlin, HZB and Uppsala University has succeeded in tracking, for each layer separately, how the magnetic order changes after a short laser pulse has excited the system. They were also able to identify the main cause of the loss of antiferromagnetic order in the oxide layer: the excitation is transported from the hot electrons in the ferromagnetic metal to the spins in the antiferromagnet.
- Electrocatalysts: New model for charge separation at the solid-liquid interfaceHydrogen is at the heart of the transition to carbon neutrality, as both an energy carrier and a reagent for green chemistry. However, large-scale production of hydrogen via electrolysis, as well as the production of many other chemical products, requires significantly cheaper and more efficient catalysts. A precise understanding of the electrochemical processes that take place at the interface between the solid catalyst and the liquid medium is highly useful for developing better electrocatalysts. In the journal Nature Communications, an European team has now presented a powerful model that determines charge separation at the interface, the formation of the electric double layer and local electric potential variations, and the resulting influence on the catalytic activity.