Scientific Highlights
Optimizing a radiochemical separation of 26Al from an acidic V-rich matrix
At the Paul Scherrer Institute (PSI), within the Isotope and Target Chemistry (ITC) group, various radiochemical methods are developed to fully separate and purify individual radionuclides. These separation methods are devised for both new experiments and for reprocessing radioactive waste from previous experiments. When possible, we try to completely separate all of the individual radionuclides thus minimizing radioactive waste production while gaining access to valuable and rare radionuclides. In our new study we have achieved a complete separation of non-carrier added 26Al radionuclide from acidic vanadium rich matrix. This separation method will allow easier radiochemical recovery of hard-to-get 26Al in the future as well as provide insight into vanadium purification process for metallurgy purposes.
Unveiling the relationship between surface oxidation/spin state and the oxygen evolution reaction activity of cobalt-based catalysts in acidic environment
Co-based catalysts are promising candidates for the oxygen evolution reaction (OER) catalysis in acidic environment. However, both the reaction mechanism and the active species under acidic conditions remain unclear. In this study, by combining surface-sensitive soft X-ray absorption spectroscopy with electrochemical analysis, we discover that the acidic OER activity of Co-based catalysts is determined by their surface oxidation/spin state; this correlation signifies a breakthrough in defining the structure-activity relationship of Co-based catalysts for acidic OER.
Nature’s sunscreen and other SwissFEL stories
From DNA repair to catalysts: how the Alvra experimental station at SwissFEL has developed into a special tool for biology and chemistry research.
Non-coplanar helimagnetism in the layered van-der-Waals metal DyTe3
Van-der-Waals magnetic materials can be exfoliated to realize ultrathin sheets or interfaces with highly controllable optical or spintronics responses. In majority, these are collinear ferro-, ferri-, or antiferromagnets, with a particular scarcity of lattice-incommensurate helimagnets of defined left- or right-handed rotation sense, or helicity. Here, we report polarized neutron scattering experiments on DyTe3, whose layered structure has highly metallic tellurium layers separated by double-slabs of dysprosium square nets...
How the orientation of molecular single-ion magnets affects their magnetic hysteresis
Molecular single-ion magnets act as ultra-small magnets that can retain their magnetization. When organized on a well defined surface, they could allow storing information at 100 and more times higher storage densities than nowadays available.
In the present study performed at the Swiss Light Source an international research team investigated monolayers of two very similar types of organometallic single-ion magnets, that, however, behave very differently on a flat silver surface. They link the vastly different magnetic behavior with the different orientation and adsorption configurations on the surface.
Spectral evidence for Dirac spinons in a kagome lattice antiferromagnet
Emergent quasiparticles with a Dirac dispersion in condensed matter systems can be described by the Dirac equation for relativistic electrons, in analogy with Dirac particles in high-energy physics. For example, electrons with a Dirac dispersion have been intensively studied in electronic systems such as graphene and topological insulators. However, charge is not a prerequisite for Dirac fermions, and the emergence of Dirac fermions without a charge degree of freedom has been theoretically predicted to be realized in Dirac quantum spin liquids. These quasiparticles ...
Weyl spin-momentum locking in a chiral topological semimetal
Spin–orbit coupling in noncentrosymmetric crystals leads to spin–momentum locking – a directional relationship between an electron’s spin angular momentum and its linear momentum. Isotropic orthogonal Rashba spin–momentum locking has been studied for decades, while its counterpart, isotropic parallel Weyl spin–momentum locking has remained elusive in experiments. Theory predicts ...
An overview about all-solid-state batteries research activities and characterization capabilities at PSI
All-solid-state batteries (ASSBs) are forecasted to play a central role in the next generation of high energy density and safe storage devices. However, ASSBs still an immature technology and require further advancements on multiple fronts like interface (electro-)chemical and mechanical instabilities. Here, we provide an overview about PSI efforts in (i) employing advanced operando laboratory and synchrotron-based analytical methods to shed light into the various degradation mechanisms and (ii) our capabilities for interface chemical engineering.
Alavi-Mandell Award 2024 from the Journal of Nuclear Medicine (JNM) and the Society of Nuclear Medicine and Molecular Imaging (SNMMI)
We congratulate Dr. Chiara Favaretto for the excellent research work she did during her time at the Center for Radiopharmaceutical Sciences.
Three-dimensional magnonics
Researchers from an international collaboration between Switzerland, Italy, and Germany have performed the first time-resolved imaging at sub-ns timescales of the three-dimensional propagation dynamics of a spinwave in a synthetic antiferromagnetic nanostructured device, opening up the possibility to investigate magnon dynamics in complex three-dimensional geometries.