Scientific Highlights and News
The upgrade of the SLS to a diffraction-limited storage ring (DLSR) will benefit in particular those experimental techniques that exploit coherence and/or beam collimation and tight focussing. The increased coherent fraction, of the order of several percent in the hard x-ray regime, will greatly enhance phase-contrast tomography and lensless-imaging techniques such as ptychography; the ability to focus down to micron dimensions while maintaining excellent collimation will allow the investigation of proteins that only form micro- and nanocrystals, most notably membrane proteins and G-coupled protein receptors (GCPRs). The below articles contain recent news and examples, all performed at the SLS, which have been selected as representatives of some of the clearest scientific drivers for the upgrade of the SLS; such experiments at SLS 2.0 will be able to be performed either much more rapidly, or with significantly greater spatial resolution.
Time-resolved copper speciation during selective catalytic reduction of NO on Cu-SSZ-13
Through the combination of time-resolved X-ray absorption spectroscopy and transient experimentation, we were able to capture an ammonia inhibition effect on the rate-limiting copper re-oxidation at low temperature.
Nanostructure surveys of macroscopic specimens by small-angle scattering tensor tomography
The mechanical properties of many materials are based on the macroscopic arrangement and orientation of their nanostructure. This nanostructure can be ordered over a range of length scales. In biology, the principle of hierarchical ordering is often used to maximize functionality, such as strength and robustness of the material, while minimizing weight and energy cost.
X-rays film inside live flying insects – in 3D
Scientists have used a particle accelerator to obtain high-speed 3D X-ray visualizations of the flight muscles of flies. The team from Oxford University, Imperial College, and the Paul Scherrer Institute (PSI) developed a groundbreaking new CT scanning technique at the PSI’s Swiss Light Source to allow them to film inside live flying insects. The movies offer a glimpse into the inner workings of one of nature’s most complex mechanisms, showing that structural deformations are the key to understanding how a fly controls its wingbeat.