Scientific Highlights
Switzerland at the Quantum Crossroads document endorsed by QTC@PSI members
“Switzerland at the Quantum Crossroads” outlines the current quantum science and technology landscape in Switzerland, explains the promises of this technology and outlines the required steps for Switzerland to leverage its leadership in this space.
IrO2‑TiO2: A High-Surface-Area, Active, and Stable Electrocatalyst for the Oxygen Evolution Reaction
We have developed a synthetic approach to highsurface-area chlorine-free iridium oxide nanoparticles dispersed in titania (IrO2-TiO2), which is a highly active and stable OER catalyst in acidic media. Operando X-ray absorption studies demonstrate the evolution of the surface species as a function of the applied potential, suggesting the conversion of the initial hydroxo surface layer to the oxo-terminated surface via anodic oxidation.
New magnetic phase in the nickelate perovskite TlNiO3
The RNiO3 perovskites are known to order antiferromagnetically below a material-dependent Néel temperature TN. We report experimental evidence indicating the existence of a second magnetically ordered phase in TlNiO3 above TN = 104K, obtained using nuclear magnetic resonance and muon spin rotation spectroscopy.
PERFORM-60: Modelling the Ageing of Reactor Vessel Steels
The main threat to the reactor pressure vessel (RPV) operational safety is certainly the radiation damage that hardens and embrittles the steel it is made of. Four decades of research worldwide have allowed understanding and monitoring the phenomena that come into play. At the computational level, a simulation platform, PERFORM-60, has the ambitious aim of predicting the steel evolution for most RPV and operational conditions. It was initially elaborated in the frame of the EU project of the same acronym and is currently further developed to be the end-product of the on-going H2020 EU project SOTERIA. As a contribution of the Laboratory for Reactor Physics and Systems Behaviour (LRS) to SOTERIA, the platform has been rigorously assessed for the first time since its release on a real case study of a Swiss RPV. This critical assessment has been acknowledged by the community and serves as basis for improvements and future developments of the platform within SOTERIA.
Carlos Vaz Honored by the American Physical Society as Outstanding Referee 2017
SIM beamline scientist Carlos Vaz was recognized as outstanding referee for providing high quality peer review for the journals of the American Physical Society (APS).
Magnetic Field Dependence of Excitations Near Spin-Orbital Quantum Criticality
The spinel FeSc2S4 has been proposed to realize a near-critical spin-orbital singlet (SOS) state, where entangled spin and orbital moments fluctuate in a global singlet state on the verge of spin and orbital order.
Probing current-induced magnetic fields in Au|YIG heterostructures with low-energy muon spin spectroscopy
We investigated the depth dependence of current-induced magnetic fields in a bilayer of a normal metal (Au) and a ferrimagnetic insulator (Yttrium Iron Garnet—YIG) by using low energy muon spin spectroscopy (LE-μSR). This allows us to explore how these fields vary from the Au surface down to the buried Au|YIG interface, which is relevant to study physics like the spin-Hall effect.
In-situ Studies of the Reactivity of Model Catalysts: Surface Chemistry from flat surfaces to nanoparticles
On 7th February Dr. Christian Papp from University Erlangen (Germany) is visiting the SIM beamline and will give a Photon Science Seminar talk with the title: "In-situ Studies of the Reactivity of Model Catalysts: Surface Chemistry from flat surfaces to nanoparticles"
A Miniaturized Biaxial Deformation Rig for in situ Mechanical Testing
Researchers at PSI have developed a new unique miniaturized biaxial deformation rig, which allows to apply in-plane biaxial stress states with arbitrary stress ratios and to perform strain path changes on thin-sheet metals. The device is optimized for in situ usage inside a scanning electron microscope and at synchrotron beam lines.
Full Elasticity Tensor from Thermal Diffuse Scattering
We present a method for the precise determination of the full elasticity tensor from a single crystal diffraction experiment using monochromatic X-rays. For the two benchmark systems calcite and magnesium oxide, we show that the measurement of thermal diffuse scattering in the proximity of Bragg reflections provides accurate values of the complete set of elastic constants.