Science News

A research team from the Departments of Interface Science and Inorganic Chemistry was able to observe a copper catalyst during the reaction that converts the greenhouse gas CO₂ into a chemical energy source. The information gained through their technique will further advance technologically important reactions for green energy production. more

For the longest time, data about molecules was hidden in analogue media and therefore widely inaccessible for researchers. Now, molecular physicists at the Fritz Haber Institute have created a database to make spectroscopic information on molecules available at the touch of a button. more

An international team for the first time observed the formation of a metallic conduction band in electrolytes using photoelectron spectroscopy. This allowed a deeper insight into the behaviour of electrolytes and so-called dissolved or solvated electrons, which play an important role in a large number of large-scale industrial chemical processes. The work is published in Science. more

A team of scientists in the Department of Interface Science was able to exploit the dynamic structural and chemical nature of Cu surfaces under pulsed electrocatalytic reaction conditions to convert the greenhouse gas CO₂ into a fuel such as ethanol. more

At the beginning of the new decade, all data acquisition and analysis systems developed by the PP&B IT group will be compatible with the "bluesky" framework. This software was developed at NSLS-II and is another collaborative development in the EPICS [1] environment. more

Highly-selective Cu-based catalysts for CO₂ electroreduction were synthesized using electrolyte-induced nanostructuring of a Cu foil. In addition to enhanced surface roughness, the effect is associated with the formation and stability of Cu⁺ species as revealed by operando spectroscopy. more

In the nanometer length-scale, structural stability is prone to ultrafast motions that range from atomic vibrations to translations and rotations of entire nanostructures. To study the rotational motions of entire nanoparticles, we establish femtosecond electron diffraction as goniometer of ultrafast nanocrystal rotations. To achieve our scope we have combined experiments that use ultrashort pulses of electrons and photons, with detailed simulations of molecular dynamics and electron diffraction. more