German Society for Materials Science awards publication with HZB scientist as co-author
At its annual conference on September 22, 2014, the German Society for Materials Science (DGM), presented the Werner Köster Award for best publication. The work, whose authors include HZB scientist Dr. Michael Tovar and which has been published in the International Journal of Materials Research, examines the catalytic effect of vanadium pentoxide in propene synthesis from propane using spectroscopic, microscopic, and radiographic methods.
In order to better understand the various processes involved in propene synthesis from propane using the catalyst V2O5-x, scientists at the TU Berlin's Institute for Materials Sciences together with a team of researchers from Humboldt University and HZB's own Michael Tovar analyzed samples of this catalyst. They were able to show that reduction of V2O5-x starts at temperatures of 380 degrees C. Radiographic measurements that were analyzed with the help of HZB support offered important clues about how, during the reduction of oxygen, its release leads to formation of oxygen vacancies within the crystalline lattice.
Publication:
Thermally activated redox-processes in V2O5-x under high oxygen partial pressures investigated by means of impedance spectroscopy and Rutherford backscattering
doi: 10.3139/146.110906
- Humboldt-Fellow at HZB-Institute for Solar Fuels: Alexander R. UhlAlexander R. Uhl, UBC Okanagan School of Engineering in Kelowna, Canada, aims to develop with Roel van de Krol from the HZB Institute for Solar Fuels an efficient and inexpensive photoelectrolyser for producing hydrogen using sunlight. His stay is being funded by the Alexander von Humboldt Foundation.
- What Zinc concentration in teeth revealsTeeth are composites of mineral and protein, with a bulk of bony dentin that is highly porous. This structure is allows teeth to be both strong and sensitive. Besides calcium and phosphate, teeth contain trace elements such as zinc. Using complementary microscopy imaging techniques, a team from Charité Berlin, TU Berlin and HZB has quantified the distribution of natural zinc along and across teeth in 3 dimensions. The team found that, as porosity in dentine increases towards the pulp, zinc concentration increases 5~10 fold. These results help to understand the influence of widely-used zinc-containing biomaterials (e.g. filling) and could inspire improvements in dental medicine.
- Fascinating archaeological find becomes a source of knowledgeThe Bavarian State Office for the Preservation of Historical Monuments (BLfD) has sent a rare artefact from the Middle Bronze Age to Berlin for examination using cutting-edge, non-destructive methods. It is a 3,400-year-old bronze sword, unearthed during archaeological excavations in Nördlingen, Swabia, in 2023. Experts have been able to determine how the hilt and blade are connected, as well as how the rare and well-preserved decorations on the pommel were made. This has provided valuable insight into the craft techniques employed in southern Germany during the Bronze Age. The BLfD used 3D computed tomography and X-ray diffraction to analyse internal stresses at the Helmholtz-Zentrum Berlin (HZB), as well as X-ray fluorescence spectroscopy at a BESSY II beamline supervised by the Bundesanstalt für Materialforschung und -prüfung (BAM).