Scientific Highlights
Nanoparticle-Based Magnetoelectric BaTiO3–CoFe2O4 Thin Film Heterostructures for Voltage Control of Magnetism
Multiferroic composite materials combining ferroelectric and ferromagnetic order at room temperature have great potential for emerging applications such as four-state memories, magnetoelectric sensors, and microwave devices.
Kinetic studies of the Pt carbonate-mediated, room-temperature oxidation of carbon monoxide by oxygen over Pt/Al2O3 using combined, time-resolved XAFS, DRIFTS, and mass spectrometry
The kinetics involved in novel ambient-temperature mechanism for the catalytic oxidation of carbon monoxide by oxygen over a Pt/Al2O3 catalyst is evaluated within a periodic redox operation paradigm using combined mass spectrometry (MS), diffuse reflectance infrared spectroscopy (DRIFTS), and time-resolved Pt L3-edge XAFS. A high-wavenumber (ca. 1690 cm-1) carbonate species are shown to be associated with a room-temperature redox process occurring in a fraction of the Pt atoms present in the catalyst.
Magnetodielectric detection of magnetic quadrupole order in Ba(TiO)Cu4(PO4)4 with Cu4O12 square cupolas
In vortex-like spin arrangements, multiple spins can combine into emergent multipole moments. Such multipole moments have broken space-inversion and time-reversal symmetries, and can therefore exhibit linear magnetoelectric (ME) activity. Three types of such multipole moments are known: toroidal; monopole; and quadrupole moments. So far, however, the ME activity of these multipole moments has only been established experimentally for the toroidal moment.
Oxygen Evolution Reaction (OER)
Iridium oxides
Iridium oxides have been investigated by XAS under operando conditions to demonstrate the effect of size on OER.
Infrared imaging sheds new light on the condensation/evaporation process
Researcher at PSI (NES/LRT) have brought modern infrared technologies into their large thermal-hydraulic facility, called LINX, to obtain insights into condensation/evaporation process occurring under thermodynamic conditions resembling those of a nuclear power plant containment during a severe accident scenario. In such a scenario, condensation is of prime importance to control the thermodynamic state of the containment. It affects the pressure history, the overall gas (steam, hydrogen) and fission product distribution within this last barrier. Better understanding of these phenomena under accident conditions is essential to properly predict the accident evolution.
Realizing topological stability of magnetic helices in exchange-coupled multilayers for all-spin-based system
Topologically stabilized spin configurations like helices in the form of planar domain walls (DWs) or vortex-like structures with magnetic functionalities are more often a theoretical prediction rather than experimental realization. In this paper we report on the exchange coupling and helical phase characteristics within Dy-Fe multilayers. The magnetic hysteresis loops with temperature show an exchange bias field of around 1.0 kOe at 10 K.
Investigating the Role of Strain toward the Oxygen Reduction Activity on Model Thin Film Pt Catalysts
Environmentally friendly energy conversion devices such as fuel cells are becoming more and more attractive. However, major impediments to large-scale application still arise on the material side, related to the cost and poor performance of the cathode catalyst. State-of-the-art electrocatalysts are all Pt-based materials, suffering from poor electrochemical oxygen reduction kinetics.
POLAR experiment successfully launched on Chinese spacecraft
The second Chinese space laboratory satellite Tian Gong 2 was successfully launched from the Jiuquan Satellite Launch Center on September 15th, 2016 at 22:04 BTC (UTC+8h). Among more than ten instruments onboard it also brought to space the only non-Chinese experiment POLAR - the hard X-ray polarimeter.
Robust metastable skyrmions and their triangular–square lattice structural transition in a high-temperature chiral magnet
Skyrmions, topologically protected nanometric spin vortices, are being investigated extensively in various magnets. Among them, many structurally chiral cubic magnets host the triangular-lattice skyrmion crystal (SkX) as the thermo- dynamic equilibrium state. However, this state exists only in a narrow temperature and magnetic-field region just below the magnetic transition temperature Tc, while a helical or conical magnetic state prevails at lower temperatures.
Blocking Gastric Lipase Adsorption and Displacement Processes with Viscoelastic Biopolymer Adsorption Layers
Delayed fat digestion might help to fight obesity. Fat digestion begins in the stomach by adsorption of gastric lipases to oil/water interfaces. In this study we show how biopolymer covered interfaces can act as a physical barrier for recombinant dog gastric lipase (rDGL) adsorption and thus gastric lipolysis.