20 participants join the first Photon School at HZB
From 14 to 24 March, the first Photon School takes place at HZB. 20 students from 8 countries get an unique opportunity for a first-hand training covering a wide range of experimental and theoretical methods for probing the molecular structure, function, and dynamics of complex material systems. Leading experts from all fields of spectroscopy give lectures, share their latest results, and present future research strategies.
The Photon School comprises of a 5 days learning course and 4 days hands-on measurements in small groups at several experimental stations at HZB and at the Laser Lab at Freie Universität Berlin. The Photon School includes a one-day simulation exercise where participants perform standard calculations of spectra, and develop an understanding of how experimentalists and theoreticians work together.
The school is intended for students in chemistry, physics, and physical chemistry. Although it is the first Photon School at HZB, there was a strong demand for the 20 places (more than 150 applications). It is organized by the institute “Methods for Material Development” of HZB.
- 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’.