A Clearer Look at Lithium-Ion Traffic Jams in Batteries February 24, 2025 - By directly visualizing the uneven insertion of lithium ions into electrodes with well-defined crystal orientations, researchers learned why fast charging decreases battery lifespan and performance. The work could provide insights into better battery utilization and help investigations of the surface insertion reaction during fast charging. Read more »
Bennu’s Ancient Brine Sheds Light on Recipe for Life February 24, 2025 - Researchers traced the evolution of minerals (“salts”) in an ancient brine, as recorded in samples from the asteroid Bennu, returned to Earth by NASA’s OSIRIS-REx mission. The results support the idea that asteroids like Bennu may have delivered water and essential chemical building blocks of life to Earth in the distant past. Read more »
Reaction Mechanism of Commercial Lithium-Ion Battery Cathodes February 20, 2025 - Researchers used soft x-ray resonant inelastic x-ray scattering at the ALS to understand the role of aluminum doping in improving the stability of commercially used cathode materials for lithium-ion batteries. Read more »
Mind-Blowing Materials: Mimicking Neurons for Faster Computing February 20, 2025 - Researchers used x-ray absorption spectroscopy and resonant inelastic x-ray scattering at the ALS to uncover the atomic-level mechanism of conductance switching for a neuromorphic material that has the potential for energy-efficient computing. Read more »
Autonomous Beamlines: Harnessing Bayesian Optimization to Revolutionize Accelerator Science January 28, 2025 - Scientists at the Advanced Light Source are developing automated beam optimization systems, collaborating with other light sources to deploy common controls across facilities. Using machine learning, they demonstrated automated beamline alignment that optimizes beam size and flux at the push of a button. Read more »
Understanding the Role of Manganese in Fuel Production Catalysts January 22, 2025 - Using specialized equipment at the Advanced Light Source (ALS), including a custom-built reaction cell, researchers uncovered the role of manganese in cobalt manganese oxide catalysts used for fuel production. Read more » 
Identification and Structural Characterization of Antibodies for Severe Malaria January 22, 2025 - Researchers used x-ray crystallography at the ALS to characterize how two newly discovered antibodies prevent the protein interactions responsible for severe malaria. Understanding this mechanism offers novel insights for vaccine development. Read more » Hide-and-Seek with Sneaky Electrons in Solids January 22, 2025 - Researchers used angle-resolved photoemission spectroscopy (ARPES) at the Advanced Light Source (ALS) to demonstrate the existence of dark—state electrons in solids for the first time, providing insights into complex phenomena in physics, such as high-temperature superconductivity and optoelectronics.
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Not All Gaps Are Created Equal December 2, 2024 - Researchers found that charge density waves (CDWs) in topological materials induce unconventional spectral gaps in the materials’ electronic structure. The finding that CDWs in topological materials can be essentially different from that in other materials should be carefully considered when designing quantum devices. Read more »
A Macromolecular Scaffold for Probing Actinium Chemistry November 25, 2024 - By encapsulating actinium atoms within a macromolecular complex for analysis using protein crystallography, researchers discovered that actinium has a unique solid-state bonding configuration. A better understanding of actinium behavior could help improve a promising cancer treatment known as targeted alpha therapy. Read more »