Deutsche Gesellschaft für Materialkunde was a guest of HZB
Tour at BESSY II.
Tour through the experimental hall of BER II.
From 15 to 16 March, the Deutsche Gesellschaft für Materialkunde, DGM (German association of materials science), held its closed board meeting and Advisory Council meeting at HZB. The experts took the occasion to visit the synchrotron source BESSY II and the neutron source BER II, gaining an insight into important future projects of HZB.
“It was a great pleasure to be host to the Deutsche Gesellschaft für Materialkunde, where we had the opportunity to present Helmholtz-Zentrum Berlin’s strategies and research infrastructures, which external researchers are also very welcome to use,“ says Prof. Dr. Anke Kaysser-Pyzalla, scientific director of HZB.
The board members of the DGM visited the control room and experimental hall of BESSY II on 15 March. On 16 March, the DGM Advisory Council toured the neutron guide hall at BER II and the CoreLab “Correlative Microscopy and Spectroscopy”, which is home to latest generation ZEISS electron and ion microscopes for use by external users and employees of HZB.
The Deutsche Gesellschaft für Materialkunde is dedicated to promoting continual advancements in topics, structures and careers in the field of materials science and engineering. Its strategies include fostering cooperation between universities, research institutions, companies, and national and international partners, and promoting new collaborative projects. The DGM organises many symposia and congresses that are also important information exchange platforms for many scientists of HZB.
- A new way to control the magnetic properties of rare earth elementsThe special properties of rare earth magnetic materials are due to the electrons in the 4f shell. Until now, the magnetic properties of 4f electrons were considered almost impossible to control. Now, a team from HZB, Freie Universität Berlin and other institutions has shown for the first time that laser pulses can influence 4f electrons- and thus change their magnetic properties. The discovery, which was made through experiments at EuXFEL and FLASH, opens up a new way to data storage with rare earth elements.
- BESSY II shows how solid-state batteries degradeSolid-state batteries have several advantages: they can store more energy and are safer than batteries with liquid electrolytes. However, they do not last as long and their capacity decreases with each charge cycle. But it doesn't have to stay that way: Researchers are already on the trail of the causes. In the journal ACS Energy Letters, a team from HZB and Justus-Liebig-Universität, Giessen, presents a new method for precisely monitoring electrochemical reactions during the operation of a solid-state battery using photoelectron spectroscopy at BESSY II. The results help to improve battery materials and design.
- Helmholtz Institute for Polymers in Energy Applications (HIPOLE Jena) InauguratedOn June 17, 2024, the Helmholtz Institute for Polymers in Energy Applications (HIPOLE Jena) was officially inaugurated in Jena in the presence of Wolfgang Tiefensee, Minister for Economy, Science, and Digital Society of the Free State of Thuringia. The institute was founded by the Helmholtz Center Berlin for Materials and Energy (HZB) in cooperation with the Friedrich Schiller University Jena. It is dedicated to developing sustainable polymer materials for energy technologies, which are expected to play a key role in the energy transition and support Germany’s goal of becoming climate-neutral by 2045.