VI-Conference "Dynamic Pathways in Multidimensional Landscapes 2016"
More than 100 experts did gather at the international conference "Dynamic Pathways in Multidimensional Landscapes", which was held in September in Berlin. © HZB
Near the museum island, in the heart of Berlin, the International Conference "Dynamic Pathways in Multidimensional Landscapes 2016" has taken place last week. More than 100 international experts met at the Magnus-Haus of the German Physical Society from 12 -16 September 2016.
Topics ranged from quantum materials, molecular dynamics in physical chemistry and catalysis up to x-ray interaction with matter, thus crossing the boundaries of physics, chemistry and materials science. A focus was set on transient states of matter followed with Synchrotron and Free Electron Laser radiation and complementary approaches.
The conference was conducted by the Helmholtz Virtual Institute 419 "Dynamic Pathways in Multidimensional Landscapes".
More Information on the conference website
- Battery research: visualisation of aging processes operandoLithium button cells with electrodes made of nickel-manganese-cobalt oxides (NMC) are very powerful. Unfortunately, their capacity decreases over time. Now, for the first time, a team has used a non-destructive method to observe how the elemental composition of the individual layers in a button cell changes during charging cycles. The study, now published in the journal Small, involved teams from the Physikalisch-Technische Bundesanstalt (PTB), the University of Münster, researchers from the SyncLab research group at HZB and the BLiX laboratory at the Technical University of Berlin. Measurements were carried out in the BLiX laboratory and at the BESSY II synchrotron radiation source.
- New instrument at BESSY II: The OÆSE endstation in EMILA new instrument is now available at BESSY II for investigating catalyst materials, battery electrodes and other energy devices under operating conditions: the Operando Absorption and Emission Spectroscopy on EMIL (OÆSE) endstation in the Energy Materials In-situ Laboratory Berlin (EMIL). A team led by Raul Garcia-Diez and Marcus Bär showcases the instrument’s capabilities via a proof-of-concept study on electrodeposited copper.
- Green hydrogen: A cage structured material transforms into a performant catalystClathrates are characterised by a complex cage structure that provides space for guest ions too. Now, for the first time, a team has investigated the suitability of clathrates as catalysts for electrolytic hydrogen production with impressive results: the clathrate sample was even more efficient and robust than currently used nickel-based catalysts. They also found a reason for this enhanced performance. Measurements at BESSY II showed that the clathrates undergo structural changes during the catalytic reaction: the three-dimensional cage structure decays into ultra-thin nanosheets that allow maximum contact with active catalytic centres. The study has been published in the journal ‘Angewandte Chemie’.