Scientific Highlights
Kinetic studies of the Pt carbonate-mediated, room-temperature oxidation of carbon monoxide by oxygen
The kinetics involved in ambient-temperature catalytic oxidation of carbon monoxide by oxygen over a Pt/Al2O3 catalyst is evaluated under periodic redox operation using combined mass spectrometry, diffuse reflectance infrared spectroscopy and time-resolved Pt L3-edge X-ray absorption spectroscopy.
Effect of disorder on a pressure-induced z = 1 magnetic quantum phase transition
Pressure-induced ordering close to a z = 1 quantum-critical point is studied in the presence of bond disorder in the quantum spin system (C4H12N2)Cu2(Cl1−xBrx)6 (PHCX) by means of muon-spin rotation and relaxation.
Labile peroxides in secondary organic aerosol
Aerosols, suspended fine liquid or solid particles in the air we breathe, play a central role in many environmental processes through their influence on climate, the hydrological cycle, and their adverse effects on human health. While the mechanisms by which aerosol particles affect our health remain uncertain, the atmospheric oxidation of organic vapors has been shown to be related to the formation of oxygenated organic matter with high oxidative potential, the so-called reactive oxygen species (ROS).
Completion of the vacuum pipes assembly from injector to front end
On Monday October the 10th the last piece of the vacuum tube was mounted and pumped down. The about 500 m long vacuum chamber from the end of the injector to the photonics front end is now under vacuum. The only missing junction at z=119m between the already operated injector and the rest of SwissFEL will be mounted shortly before the delivery of the operation permit.
Last undulator placed in SwissFEL tunnel
On the 6th of October the last undulator for the ARAMIS beamline was placed into the SwissFEL tunnel. Thanks to the efficiency and motivation of the different groups involved with undulator preparation, all 12 undulators were assembled, measured and installed in the tunnel between the 2nd of February 2016 and the 6th of October 2016.
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.