HZB doctoral student won Young Scientist Award
Silvio Künstner (2nd from right) was awarded with five other young researchers at the EUROISMAR 2019 conference. © EUROISMAR 2019
The "Journal of Magnetic Resonance" and the ISMAR (International Society of Magnetic Resonance) awarded Silvio Künstner with a Young Scientist Award for his talk "Rapid Scan EPR-on-a-chip". The doctoral student from the HZB institute for Nanospectroscopy presented current progress in the development of a miniaturized electron spin resonance spectrometer.
Electron spin resonance or electron paramagnetic resonance (EPR) provides detailed information about the inner structure of materials, down to an atomic level. This understanding of the material is essential for research in the field of renewable energies, such as efficient solar cells or battery electrodes. Of particular importance are experiments under real process conditions (operando measurements).
The chip-sized miniaturized EPR spectrometer presented by Silvio Künstner is so small that it can be inserted directly inside the sample. This improvement simplifies the handling of operando measurements significantly. In addition, EPR-on-a-chip is far more sensitive than conventional instruments. Next to the Helmholtz Zentrum Berlin, the University of Stuttgart, the Max Planck Institute for Chemical Energy Conversion, as well as the Karlsruhe Institute of Technology (KIT) and Bruker (as part of the BMBF's "EPRoC" project) are involved in the research of the miniature spectrometer.
Silvio Künstner received the Young Scientist Award at the ISMAR EUROMAR Joint Conference (25 - 30 August 2019) in Berlin, which was attended by more than 1000 scientists. At the world's largest conference in this field, the HZB was involved as co-organizer. Furthermore, researchers of the Helmholtz-Zentrum Berlin participated with more than ten presentations.
- Materials chemistry shapes the future of catalysisThe synthesis of materials can serve as a tool for developing smart, adaptive electrocatalysts. This rapidly evolving field of research involves in-situ analytics, data-driven discoveries and autonomous robotics. These new approaches could accelerate the discovery of long-lasting and efficient catalysts for future energy conversion and the decarbonisation of the chemical industry. A recent article by Dr Prashanth Menezes and his team in the renowned journal Angewandte Chemie provides an overview of this research.
- Imaging Ellipsometry for Process Control of Thin-Film DevicesA German–Israeli research team led by Dr. Andreas Furchner has demonstrated how imaging ellipsometry enables non-destructive characterisation and quality control of microstructured MXene thin films during device fabrication. The authors used two complementary ellipsometry approaches for precise, multi-scale access to key material properties. The work positions imaging ellipsometry as a powerful platform for monitoring thin-film uniformity, device integrity, and functionality throughout processing, including critical lithographic steps. The study was published in Applied Physics Letters and selected as an Editor’s Pick.
- BESSY II: How intrinsic oxygen shortens the lifespan of solid-state batteriesAlthough solid-state batteries (SSBs) demonstrate high performance and are intrinsically safe, their capacity currently declines rapidly. A team from the TU Wien, Humboldt-University Berlin and HZB has now analysed a TiS₂|Li₃YCl₆ solid-state half-cell in operando at BESSY II using a special sample environment that allows for non-destructive investigation under real operating conditions. Data obtained by combination of soft and hard X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS and HAXPES) revealed a new degradation mechanism that had not previously been identified in solid-state batteries. They have gained some surprising insights, particularly regarding the harmful role played by intrinsic oxygen. This study provides valuable information for improving design and handling of such batteries.