HZB is involved in the Helmholtz exchange programme with China
With regard to Chinese institutions, the Helmholtz Beijing Office (photo) wants to promote the Helmholtz Association and its outstanding research environment and facilities as an attractive location for the training of young scientists. Photo © Helmholtz-Gemeinschaft
The Helmholtz Association and the Office of China Postdoctoral Council, OCPC, are establishing a common exchange programme for Chinese postdocs. The young scientists will be researching at eight Helmholtz centres for two years before returning to China. HZB is also involved in the exchange programme, which runs from 2017 to 2021.
Two Chinese postdocs have recently started working at HZB, funded by a stipend from the programme. Dr. Junming Li is researching in the young investigator group “Materials and Interfaces for Stable Perovskite Solar Cells”. This group is headed by Dr. Antonio Abate, who is presently at Fuzhou University in China as a visiting professor. The second postdoc, Hongtao Yu, is working in the group of Prof. Dr. Yan Lu, an expert for colloid chemistry. Two more postdocs will be arriving at HZB at the beginning of 2018 in the scope of this exchange programme.
For their research stay, the postdocs are receiving a scholarship equally co-funded by the Chinese OCPC and the host centre. In total, 50 young researchers this year have received the opportunity to research at the Helmholtz centres under the supervision of experienced scientists, and to acquire valuable international experience.
The exchange programme between the Helmholtz Association and OCPC is the first of its kind on this scale. Previously, only very few young OCPC postdocs from China would be given the opportunity to research in another country. The postdoctoral exchange programme is intended to create a basis for long-term, sustainable cooperation between the two countries in science and education.
Helmholtz Centres involved:
FZJ (coordination), DESY, HZB, HZI, GFZ, GSI, KIT and HMGU
Also involved is the Helmholtz office in Beijing.
- Porous Radical Organic framework improves lithium-sulphur batteriesA team led by Prof. Yan Lu, HZB, and Prof. Arne Thomas, Technical University of Berlin, has developed a material that enhances the capacity and stability of lithium-sulphur batteries. The material is based on polymers that form a framework with open pores (known as radical-cationic covalent organic frameworks or COFs). Catalytically accelerated reactions take place in these pores, firmly trapping polysulphides, which would shorten the battery life. Some of the experimental analyses were conducted at the BAMline at BESSY II.
- Metallic nanocatalysts: what really happens during catalysisUsing a combination of spectromicroscopy at BESSY II and microscopic analyses at DESY's NanoLab, a team has gained new insights into the chemical behaviour of nanocatalysts during catalysis. The nanoparticles consisted of a platinum core with a rhodium shell. This configuration allows a better understanding of structural changes in, for example, rhodium-platinum catalysts for emission control. The results show that under typical catalytic conditions, some of the rhodium in the shell can diffuse into the interior of the nanoparticles. However, most of it remains on the surface and oxidises. This process is strongly dependent on the surface orientation of the nanoparticle facets.
- KlarText Prize for Hanna TrzesniowskiThe chemist has been awarded the prestigious KlarText Prize for Science Communication by the Klaus Tschira Foundation.