20 Years Russian-German Joint Laboratory at BESSY II
To mark its 20th anniversary, the Russian-German Laboratory at the BESSY II storage ring for synchrotron radiation in Berlin is organising an online workshop on 18 and 19 November. Scientists will discuss the future perspectives of Russian-German cooperation as well as innovative projects and new goals of the laboratory.
Since its foundation two decades ago, numerous scientists from Russia and Germany have worked at the Russian-German Joint Laboratory and have since published around 770 publications. The research cooperation is now supported by eight partner organisations - Freie Universität Berlin, Helmholtz-Zentrum Berlin, Technische Universität Dresden and Technische Universität Bergakademie Freiberg. They are joined by St. Petersburg State University, the Ioffe Institute in St. Petersburg and the Kurchatov Institute and Shubnikov Institute of Crystallography in Moscow.
The laboratory receives funding from the Federal Ministry of Education and Research. Messreisen supports the HZB and the German-Russian Centre of Excellence G-RISC, which is funded by the German Academic Exchange Service (DAAD) with funds from the Federal Foreign Office.
The researchers will use the anniversary workshop to discuss current highlights from their research. Expert lectures will deal with the magnetism of two-dimensional crystals, i.e. novel materials that can make the computer hardware of the future more powerful and energy-efficient, as well as new battery materials and the question of why novel materials for solar cells show unexpectedly high efficiency. "What does the future hold for the Russian-German Laboratory?" asks Eckart Rühl, Professor of Physical Chemistry at the Free University of Berlin and coordinator of the research laboratory. New synchrotron radiation sources are already being planned in Germany and Russia, he says. "BESSY II will continue to provide excellent opportunities for the Russian-German Laboratory in the coming decade. And the planned successor source BESSY III will make previously unfeasible experiments possible!" emphasises Prof. Dr. Jan Lüning, scientific director of Helmholtz-Zentrum Berlin.
Program of the Workshop on 18 and 19 November 2021
- 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.