© Jessika Sauer
Almost 4,000 People at the Long Night of the Sciences at HZB
© Jessica Sauer
© Jessica Sauer
© Jessica Sauer
© Jessica Sauer
© Jessica Sauer
© Jessica Sauer
© Jessica Sauer
© Jessica Sauer
Helmholtz-Zentrum Berlin was delighted to welcome nearly 4,000 visitors to its Adlershof campus for the Long Night of the Sciences. It was a fantastic celebration of science, and we thank all our guests for their great interest.
Throughout the evening, people flocked to the Energiestraße on the Kekuléstraße, where a wide-ranging program invited them to stay, explore, and experiment. Visitors could, for example, make himmering chocolate, drive solar-powered cars, build solar cells, or learn about solar façades. The lecture programme focused on how research can support the transition to a climate-neutral and affordable energy supply. We counted 1300 visitors on Kekuléstraße.
With 2,600 guests, our light source BESSY II was once again very well attended. At many stations, visitors conducted hands-on experiments and were amazed. The school lab was also pleased to welcome a steady stream of guests late into the night. There, young and old alike could build lemon batteries or solve an energy quiz. For the first time, our battery research team also had their own stations, where people could build coin cell batteries, among other things. In a "Future Café," we invited guests to discuss with us what a livable city might look like and how research can contribute to shaping it.
For those in need of a break from all the amazement, experimentation, and listening, there was a chance to relax in front of the BESSY II building with music, drinks, and light installations.
What remains? The feeling of how valuable direct exchange is – and how much fun science can be. Thank you to everyone who took part!
- Does African Architecture exist?The world’s first Pan-African Architecture Biennale took place this September in Nairobi, Kenya. People from the worlds of architecture, art, academia and politics from 54 African countries and the diaspora had travelled to Nairobi to exchange ideas on traditional and contemporary building methods, materials, experiences and projects. Samira Aden co-organised this biennial as lead curator. We spoke to her about it.
- Nanosilver as an electrocatalyst for CO₂ reductionVia electrolysis, CO2 can be reduced to CO, a raw material for further chemical products such as fuels. Within the GreenQuest Project, an internation team led by HZB chemist Prashanth Menezes has now systematically investigated catalyst layers made of silver nanoparticles, varying both the size of the particles and their density. The best yield was achieved with nanoparticles with diameters of around 10 nm, which were loosely distributed. Furthermore, they demonstrated how the economic efficiency of the electrochemical cell can be enhanced by integrating an additional chemical reaction at the anode, enabling the simultaneous production of a valuable formic acid, hydrogen, and CO in one device.
- BESSY II: Evaporated perovskites in tandem solar cells improvedPerovskite-silicon tandem solar cells achieve significantly higher efficiencies than silicon solar cells on their own. One particularly attractive method is co-evaporation of the perovskite precursor molecules on top of the silicon subcell. Scientists at HZB have analysed film growth on the nanoscale at BESSY II and found a new way to improve the quality of the perovskite layer: adding a thin seed layer of caesium chloride between the two sub-cells promotes uniform perovskite growth and suppresses the formation of undesired lead iodide at the interface.