Understanding the interfaces where solids and liquids meet is key to controlling a wide range of energy-relevant processes, from how batteries store energy to how metals corrode, and more. Now researchers have explored such interfaces and found what they describe as a treasure trove of unexpected results that expands our understanding of working interfaces and how to probe them. Read more »
How to Catch a Magnetic Monopole in the Act
A research team has created a nanoscale “playground” on a chip that simulates the formation of exotic magnetic particles called “monopoles.” The study could unlock the secrets to ever-smaller, more powerful memory devices, microelectronics, and next-generation hard drives that employ the power of magnetic spin to store data. Read more »
Getting to the Bottom of a Metal/Acid Interface
Researchers identified the molecules that collect at the interface between a platinum electrode and an acidic electrolyte under an applied voltage. Knowledge of the structure and composition of such nanometer-thin interface regions is key to understanding topics such as corrosion, geochemistry, electrocatalysis, and energy storage. Read more »
Spin-Momentum Locking in Cuprate High-Temperature Superconductors
A form of spin-momentum locking, similar to the strong linkage between electron spin and momentum in topological insulators, has been found in a cuprate superconductor. The results open a new chapter in the mystery of high-temperature superconductors, suggesting that new, unexplored interactions and mechanisms might be at play. Read more »
Graphene-Based Catalyst Improves Peroxide Production
Scientists characterized a graphene-based electrocatalyst that potentially makes the production of hydrogen peroxide more selective, efficient, and cost effective. Hydrogen peroxide is an important commodity chemical with growing demand in many areas, including the electronics industry, wastewater treatment, and paper recycling. Read more »
Clarifying the Working Principle of a High-Capacity Battery Electrode
Operando x-ray absorption spectroscopy experiments revealed the electrochemical reaction mechanism of molybdenum disulfide (MoS2) electrodes in lithium-ion battery cells. The work unambiguously clarifies that the MoS2 conversion reaction is not reversible and that the Li2S formed is converted to sulfur in the first charge process. Read more »
X-Ray Handedness Reveals Handedness of Electronic Vortices
Electronic vortex structures have been found to emerge from engineered samples of alternating complex-oxide layers. Resonant soft x-ray diffraction (RSXD) studies using circularly polarized x-rays revealed the vortices’ left- and right-handedness. The intriguing results open the door to electrically controllable chiral devices. Read more »
Fuel from the Sun: Insight into Electrode Performance
The mechanisms limiting the performance of hematite electrodes—potentially key components in producing fuel from the sun—have been clarified in interface-specific studies under realistic operating conditions, bringing us a step closer to storing solar energy in chemical fuels. Read more »
Researchers Confirm New 2D Topolgical Insulator
Researchers have established that a particularly stable form of WTe2 is a two-dimensional topological insulator, confirming recent predictions. The findings should provide new opportunities for fundamental studies of topological phenomena and for next-generation spintronic applications. Read more »
Tender X-Rays Map the Double-Layer Potential
In a first-of-its-kind experiment, ALS researchers demonstrated a new, direct way to study the inner workings of a phenomenon in chemistry known as an “electrochemical double layer” that forms where liquids meet solids—where battery fluid meets an electrode, for example. Read more »
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