New door opened to understanding the catalysis of ammonia production

Research team investigates the reaction mechanism for catalytic ammonia production at PETRA III

26-Jan-2024 - A research team from Stockholm University, in collaboration with DESY and the Montanuniversität Leoben in Austria, has succeeded for the first time in investigating the surface of iron and ruthenium catalysts in the formation of ammonia from nitrogen and hydrogen; the results have been published ...

High-efficiency water splitting process revealed

Reaction of high interest to clean-energy innovations is closely analysed in X-ray study

17-Feb-2023 - Experiments at DESY’s light sources PETRA III and FLASH have revealed the complex mode of action behind the artificial splitting of water at its most efficient level. Using X-rays, a team led by DESY leading scientist Simone Techert managed to observe the interaction of water with a perovskite, a ...

Rare insights into growing nanoparticles

“This is a key factor for the design of highly active catalysts and sensors with high sensitivity”

02-Sep-2022 - How exactly do nanoparticles form in solution? Researchers from Universität Hamburg and DESY have now been able to observe the growth of nanoparticles in solution in real time. In the journal Nature Communications, they report on their observations using the method of X-ray ptychography, which ...

Researchers watch nanomaterials growing in real time

New world record in the temporal resolution achieved using GISAXS, a surface-sensitive scattering technique

17-Feb-2021 - For the first time, a team of scientists has succeeded in capturing in real time the first few milliseconds in the life of a gold coating as it forms on a polymer. The team used DESY’s high-brilliance X-ray source PETRA III to observe the earliest stages in the growth of a metal-polymer hybrid ...

Plastic from Wood

X-ray analysis points the way to lignin-based components made to measure

03-Mar-2020 - The biopolymer lignin is a by-product of papermaking and a promising raw material for manufacturing sustainable plastic materials. However, the quality of this naturally occurring product is not as uniform as that of petroleum-based plastics. An X-ray analysis carried out at DESY reveals for the ...

How molecular footballs burst in an X-ray laser beam

Study shows effect of X-ray flashes on sensitive biomolecules

26-Sep-2019 - An international research team has observed in real time how football molecules made of carbon atoms burst in the beam of an X-ray laser. The study shows the temporal course of the bursting process, which takes less than a trillionth of a second, and is important for the analysis of sensitive ...

Spraying nanopaper

New process produces extremely smooth cellulose layers on an industrial scale

11-Jul-2019 - With a new spray coating process, very uniform layers of cellulose nanofibers (CNF) can be produced on an industrial scale. X-ray investigations at DESY's research light source PETRA III as well as investigations with an atomic force microscope and neutron scattering show how the layer is ...

Scientists develop printable water sensor

X-ray investigation reveals functioning of highly versatile copper-based compound

05-Mar-2019 - A new, versatile plastic-composite sensor can detect tiny amounts of water. The 3d printable material, developed by a Spanish-Israeli team of scientists, is cheap, flexible and non-toxic and changes its colour from purple to blue in wet conditions. The researchers lead by Pilar Amo-Ochoa from the ...

Scientists measure soot particles in flight

29-Jun-2012 - For the first time, air-polluting soot particles have been imaged in flight down to nanometre resolution. Pioneering a new technique, the international team, including researchers from DESY, snapped the most detailed images yet of airborne aerosols. “For the first time we can actually see the ...