Young Investigators Workshop of the Helmholtz Virtual Institute "Dynamic Pathways in Multidimensional Landscapes"
The Virtual Institute explores the governing principles of material’s function in an internationally highly visible centre of excellence. From now on, young scientists (PhD students, master students, and young postdocs) are invited to participate in the Young Investigators Workshop that will take place from 23rd to 28th April 2017 at the Eibsee-Hotel in the Bavarian Alps. It focuses on the research topics of the Helmholtz Virtual Institute 419 and includes both experimental and theoretical projects on molecular and chemical dynamics, phase transitions and switching as well as fundamental light-matter interaction.
We strongly encourage young scientists (PhD students, master students, and young postdocs) who work in this field to participate in this workshop, and to present and discuss their results in an informal atmosphere.
For eligible young researchers this Virtual Institute covers costs for accommodation, board, and travel costs according to VI regulations.
Workshop programme
Sunday 23rd April: arrival, dinner/get together, evening talk.
Monday – Thursday: morning session talks - outdoor workshop – afternoon session talks.
Friday 28th April: departure.
Each participant is asked to give a talk (duration 15 + 5 minutes discussion).
Date and Location
The Young Investigators Workshop takes place from 23rd to 28th April 2017 at the Eibsee-Hotel in the Bavarian Alps near Grainau. The Eibsee-Hotel has direct access to ski and hiking areas.
Application deadline is on Febuary 10th. Please apply via email by sending a short CV and an abstract (about 250 words) to grunewald@helmholtz-berlin.de. The number of available places is limited.
- 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’.