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ALS Work Using STXM

Scanning transmission x-ray microscopy (STXM) generates microscopic images of a thin section of specimen by raster-scanning it in a focused x-ray beam. The flux of transmitted x-rays is measured to obtain the image intensity. By holding the beam at a microscopic region of interest on the sample while the photon energy is scanned, chemically sensitive x-ray absorption spectra can be measured at that specific location (spectromicroscopy).

 

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 »

Macromolecular organic matter in samples of the asteroid (162173) Ryugu

We investigated the macromolecular organic matter in samples of the asteroid Ryugu—brought to Earth by the Hayabusa2 spacecraft—measuring its elemental, isotopic, and functional group compositions along with its small-scale structures and morphologies. Analytical methods used included spectro-microscopies, electron microscopy, and isotopic microscopy. Read more »

How X-Rays Can Make Better Batteries

In order to help our nation meet its goal of net-zero carbon emissions by 2050, scientists like William Chueh and David Shapiro are working together to come up with new strategies to design safer, long-distance batteries made from sustainable, Earth-abundant materials. They discuss their pioneering work in this Q&A. Read more »

Machine-Learning Team Receives 2021 Halbach Award

This year’s Halbach Award for Innovative Instrumentation at the ALS went to a team of accelerator physicists and computer scientists who were able to use machine-learning techniques to solve a problem that has plagued third-generation light sources for a long time: fluctuations in beam size due to the motion of insertion devices. Read more »

A Multiscale Picture of Oxygen Loss in Battery Electrodes

In lithium-ion batteries, oxygen atoms leak out of electrode particles as the lithium moves back and forth between electrodes. Now, researchers have measured this process at multiple length scales, showing how the oxygen loss changes the electrode’s structure and chemistry, gradually reducing the amount of energy it can store. Read more »

Nanoscale Metallic Particles Detected in Brain Tissue

Researchers detected nanoscale deposits of elemental copper and iron in brain tissues isolated from Alzheimer’s disease subjects. The discovery suggests new directions of study to determine the role that elemental metals might play in neurochemistry, neurobiology, and the development of neurodegenerative disease. Read more »PPT-icon-35 PDF-icon-35

New Tools Link Catalytic Activity to Nanoscale Transformations

Transitioning to a clean hydrogen economy will require cheaper, more efficient ways to split water molecules. To address bottlenecks in the water-splitting process, researchers developed a suite of advanced tools, including a liquid flow cell that enables electrochemical studies of catalysts under working conditions. Read more »

X-Ray Experiments, Machine Learning Could Trim Years Off Battery R&D

Scanning transmission x-ray microscopy at the ALS’s COSMIC beamline contributed to a battery study that used an innovative approach to machine learning to speed up the learning curve about a process that shortens the life of fast-charging lithium batteries. It represents the first time this brand of “scientific machine learning” was applied to battery cycling. Read more »

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