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Spiraling Beams Differentiate Antiferromagnetic States

Using spiraling x-ray beams, researchers differentiated between energetically equivalent (“degenerate”) states in an antiferromagnetic lattice. The work shows the potential of these beams to probe properties that would otherwise be inaccessible, to better understand phenomena of fundamental interest and for applications such as spintronics. Read more »PPT-icon-35 PDF-icon-35

Increasing the Energy Density of Hybrid Supercapacitor Electrodes

Hybrid supercapacitors (HSCs) integrate the merits of batteries with those of supercapacitors. However, the fraction of active material in HSC electrodes has remained too low for commercial requirements. Now, researchers have found a clever way to increase the active-mass ratio to achieve dramatic improvements in key measures. Read more »

Probing Walls between Electrically Polarized Domains

Researchers used infrared light to investigate the properties of the domain walls that separate electrically polarized (ferroelectric) regions in a rare-earth ferrite material. An understanding of domain-wall behavior is relevant to the development of advanced logic and memory applications for ultralow-power digital devices. Read more »PPT-icon-35 PDF-icon-35

Nicotine Protonation in Simulated Vaping Aerosols

To better understand how e-cigarette additives alter nicotine chemistry and users’ perceptions of vaping, researchers used x-ray spectroscopy technology at the Advanced Light Source to analyze the acid-base equilibria of additive-enhanced nicotine in simulated vaping aerosols. Read more »

The Identity and Chemistry of C7H7 Radicals Observed during Soot Formation

Recent work suggests that resonance-stabilized radicals may participate in chain reactions that lead to soot-particle formation, but their identities and chemistry are poorly understood. C7H7 is often observed in aerosol mass spectra and is generally assumed to be benzyl, the most thermodynamically stable C7H7 isomer. It has now been shown that the identities of these isomers are far more varied, and their chemistry is far more complex, than previously appreciated. Read more »

SO2 Photodissociation at 193 nm Directly Forms S(3P) + O2(3Σg–): Implications for the Archean Atmosphere on Earth

Sulfur isotope patterns in ancient rock layers inform our understanding of Earth’s Archean atmosphere.  Before the Great Oxygenation Event (~2.4 billion years ago), hard ultraviolet light penetrated into the Earth’s surface, photodissociating sulfur dioxide directly to S + O2.  This new product channel may help resolve discrepancies in the Earth’s evolutionary history. Read more »

Raman and Far-Infrared Synchrotron Nanospectroscopy of Layered Crystalline Talc: Vibrational Properties, Interlayer Coupling, and Symmetry Crossover

Talc is an electrical insulator and an excellent target for low-cost, heterostructure-based optoelectronic applications. Here, light-matter interactions and their consequences at the nanoscale-thickness limit are probed using Raman spectroscopy, near-field synchrotron infrared nanospectroscopy, and first-principles calculations. Read more »