Lightsource research on SARS-CoV-2

Lightsource research on SARS-CoV-2

Coronaviruses are a family which includes the common cold, SARS, MERS and the current outbreak of the disease COVID-19, caused by the SARS-CoV-2 virus.
Several facilities of our collaboration have started research about SARS-CoV-2 virus or launched open calls for rapid access. This post will be updated regularly.

Publications on SARS-CoV-2 Rapid Access




Publications

Published articles

2021.12.09 Diamond Light Source (UK) article on their website: Trigger of rare blood clots with AstraZeneca and other COVID vaccines found by scientists

2021.11.06 APS at Argonne National Laboratory (USA) article on their website: Advanced Photon Source Helps Pfizer Create COVID-19 Antiviral Treatment

2021.11.04 ESRF (France) article on their website: EBS X-rays show lung vessels altered by COVID-19 (esrf.fr)

2021.08.11 BESSY II at HZB (Germany) article on their website: HZB coordinates European collaboration to develop active agents against Corona – Helmholtz-Zentrum Berlin (HZB) (helmholtz-berlin.de)

2021.08.10 Canadian Light Source article on their website: Developing antiviral drugs to treat COVID-19 infections

2021.07.06 European XFEL (Germany) article on their website: XFEL: Insights into coronavirus proteins using small angle X-ray scattering

2021.06.21 Diamond Light Source (UK) article on their website: X-ray fluorescence imaging at Diamond helps find a way to improve accuracy of Lateral Flow Tests

2021.06.17 Australian Synchrotron (ANSTO) article on their website: Research finds possible key to long term COVID-19 symptoms

2021.05.11 Swiss Light Source at PSI (Switzerland) article on their website: How remdesivir works against the coronavirus

2021.05.28 SLAC (CA / USA) article from the Stanford Synchrotron Radiation Lightsource (SSRL): Structure-guided Nanobodies Block SARS-CoV-2 Infection | Stanford Synchrotron Radiation Lightsource

2021.05.21 ALS (USA) article on their website: Guiding Target Selection for COVID-19 Antibody Therapeutics

2021.05.21 ESRF (France) article on their website: Combatting COVID-19 with crystallography and cryo-EM (esrf.fr)

2021.05.18 ALS (USA) article on their website: How X-Rays Could Make Reliable, Rapid COVID-19 Tests a Reality | Berkeley Lab (lbl.gov)

2021.04.27 Canadian Light Source (Canada), video on their website Investigating the long-term health impacts of COVID-19 (lightsource.ca)

2021.04.22 Synchrotron Light Research Institute (Thailand), article on their website: SLRI Presented Innovations Against COVID-19 Outbreak to MHESI Minister on His Visit to a Field Hospital at SUT

2021.04.16 Diamond Light Source (UK) article on their website: Massive fragment screen points way to new SARS-CoV-2 inhibitors

2021.04.14 SLAC (CA / USA), article also with news about research at Stanford Synchrotron Radiation Lightsource (SSRL):Researchers search for clues to COVID-19 treatment with help from synchrotron X-rays

2021.04.07 Diamond Light Source (UK), article on their website: First images of cells exposed to COVID-19 vaccine – – Diamond Light Source

2021.04.05 ALS (CA/USA) blog post on Berkeley Lab Biosciences website: New COVID-19 Antibody Supersite Discovered

2021.04.02 PETRA III at DESY (Germany), article and animation on their website DESY X-ray lightsource identifies promising candidate for COVID drugs

2021.03.26 Diamond Light Source (UK), article on their website: New targets for antibodies in the fight against SARS-CoV-2

2021.02.23 Australian Light Source (ANSTO) Australia, article on their website: Progress on understanding what makes COVID-19 more infectious than SARS

2020.12.02 ESRF (France), article and video on their website: ESRF and UCL scientists awarded Chan Zuckerberg Initiative grant for human organ imaging project

2020.11.10 Diamond Light Source (UK), article and video on their website: From nought to sixty in six months… the unmasking of the virus behind COVID-19

2020.10.29 Canadian Light Source (Canada) video on their website: Studying how to damage the COVID-19 virus

2020.10.07 National Synchrotron Light Source II (NSLS-II) at Brookhaven Lab (NY / USA) article on their website: Steady Progress in the Battle Against COVID-19

2020.10.07 Diamond Light Source (UK), article on their website: Structural Biology identifies new information to accelerate structure-based drug design against COVID-19

2020.10.06 MAX IV (Sweden), article on their website: Tackling SARS CoV-2 viral genome replication machinery using X-rays

2020.08.31 SLAC (CA / USA), article also with news about research at Stanford Synchrotron Radiation Lightsource (SSRL): SARS-CoV-2 Spike Protein Targeted for Vaccine

2020.08.27 Diamond Light Source (UK), article on their website: Structural Biology reveals new target to neutralise COVID-19

2020.08.27 Canadian Light Source (Canada) video on their website: Developing more effective drugs

2020.08.25 Australian Synchrotron (ANSTO) (Australia) article on their website: More progress on understanding COVID-19

2020.08.24 DESY (Germany) article on their website: PETRA III provides new insights into COVID-19 lung tissue

2020.08.11 Australian Synchrotron (ANSTO) (Australia) article on their website: Unique immune system of the alpaca being used in COVID-19 research

2020.07.30 Swiss Light Source at PSI (Switzerland) article on their website: COVID-19 research: Anti-viral strategy with double effect

2020.07.29 National Synchrotron Light Source II (NSLS-II) at Brookhaven Lab (NY / USA) article on their website: Ready to join the fight against COVID-19.

2020.07.20 ALBA (Spain) article on their website: A research team from Centro de Investigaciones Biológicas Margarita Salas (CIB-CSIC) uses synchrotron light to study the possible effect of an antitumoral drug of clinical use over the viral cycle of SARS-CoV-2 coronavirus. 

2020.07.15 ALS (USA) article on their website: Antibody from SARS Survivor Neutralizes SARS-CoV-2

2020.07.14 Diamond Light Source (UK), article on their website: Engineered llama antibodies neutralise Covid-19 virus

2020.06.17 European XFEL (Germany) article on their website: Pulling Together: A collaborative research approach to study COVID-19

2020.06.15 European XFEL (Germany) article on their website: Open Science COVID19 analysis platform online

2020.06.09 APS at Argonne National Laboratory (USA) article on their website: Novel Coronavirus Research at the Advanced Photon Source

2020.05. Società Italiana di Fisica publishes an article about research done at Elettra Sincrotrone Trieste (Italy) and the Advanced Light Source (CA / USA): Accelerator facilities support COVID-19-related research

2020.05.27 Diamond Light Source (UK), new animation video demonstrating the work that has been done at Diamond’s XChem facilities.

2020.05.19 Advanced Light Source (CA / USA), article about their latest results: X-ray Experiments Zero in on COVID-19 Antibodies

2020.05.15 Swiss Light Source (Switzerland), article about their first MX results: First MX results of the priority COVID-19 call

2020.05.14 MAX VI (Sweden), article about their research: Tackling SARS CoV-2 viral genome replication machinery using X-rays

2020.05.14 CHESS (NY/USA), article: CHESS to restart in June for COVID-19 research

2020.05.14 the LEAPS initiative brings together many of our European members. The initative published this brochure: Research at LEAPS facilities fighting COVID-19

2020.05.12 Diamond Light Source (UK), article about their collaboration in a consortium: UK consortium launches COVID-19 Protein Portal to provide essential reagents for SARS-CoV-2 research

2020.05.11 Advanced Photon Source (IL/USA), article: Studying Elements from the SARS-CoV-2 Virus at the Bio-CAT Beamline

2020.05.07 European XFEL (Germany), article: European XFEL open for COVID-19 related research

2020.05.06 ESRF (France), article: World X-ray science facilities are contributing to overcoming COVID-19

2020.04.29. BESSY II at HZB (Germany), article: Corona research: Consortium of Berlin research and industry seeks active ingredients

2020.04.29. Swiss Light Source and SwissFEL at PSI (Switzerland), interview series on the PSI website: Research on Covid-19

2020.04.23. PETRA III at DESY (Germany), article: X-ray screening identifies potential candidates for corona drugs

2020.04.21. MAX IV (Sweden), article: BioMAX switches to remote operations in times of COVID-19

2020.04.16. SLAC (CA / USA), article also with news about research at Stanford Synchrotron Radiation Lightsource (SSRL): SLAC joins the global fight against COVID-19

2020.04.15 Berkeley National Lab (CA/ USA), article with a focus on the research at the Advanced Light Source (ALS):
Staff at Berkeley Lab’s X-Ray Facility Mobilize to Support COVID-19-Related Research

2020.04.07 Diamond Light Source (UK), article: Call for Chemists to contribute to the fight against COVID-19
Crowdfunding: COVID-19 Moonshot

2020.04.07. ANSTO’s Australian Synchrotron (Victoria), article: Aiding the global research effort on COVID-19

2020.04.06. National Synchrotron Light Source II (NSLS-II) at Brookhaven Lab (NY / USA), article: Brookhaven Lab Mobilizes Resources in Fight Against COVID-19

2020.04.02. BESSY II at HZB (Germany), article: Corona research: Two days of measuring operation to find the right key

2020.03.31 Diamond Light Source (UK), article: Jointly with Exscientia and Scripps Research, Diamond aims to accelerate the search for drugs to treat COVID-19

2020.03.27 Argonne National Laboratory with the Advanced Photon Source (APS) and other facilities on-site (IL / USA), article: Argonne’s researchers and facilities playing a key role in the fight against COVID-19

2020.03.27 ANSTO’s Australian Synchrotron (Victoria), article and video: Helping in the fight against COVID-19

2020.03.25 PETRA III at DESY (Germany), article: Research team will X-ray coronavirus proteins

2020.03.23 Diamond Light Source (UK) releases its first animation explaining: SARS-CoV-2 Mpro Single Crystal Crystallography

2020.03.25 CERN Courrier (Switzerland) article about synchrotron research on SARS-CoV-2, written by Tessa Charles (accelerator physicist at the University of Melbourne currently based at CERN, completed her PhD at the Australian Synchrotron): Synchrotrons on the coronavirus frontline

2020.03.19 BESSY II at Helmholtz-Zentrum Berlin (Germany), research publication: Coronavirus SARS-CoV2: BESSY II data accelerate drug development

2020.03.19 BESSY II at Helmholtz-Zentrum Berlin (Germany), technique explanation webpage: Protein crystallography at BESSY II: A mighty tool for the search of anti-viral agents

2020.03.16 Diamond Light Source (UK), article on their “Coronavirus Science” website: Main protease structure and XChem fragment screen

2020.03.12. Elettra Sincrotrone (Italy), article on their website: New project to fight the spread of Coronavirus has been approved

2020.03.05. Advanced Photon Source (IL / USA), article on their website: APS Coronavirus Research in the Media Spotlight

2020.03.05. Advanced Photon Source (IL / USA), research publication: “Crystal structure of Nsp15 endoribonuclease NendoU from SARS-CoV-2,” bioRXiv preprint  DOI: 10.1101/2020.03.02.968388, Article on their website (source: Northwestern University): New Coronavirus Protein Reveals Drug Target

Facility Covid-19 research pages

The Canadian Light Source (Canada) has created a specific page highlighting their COVID-19 research: COVID-19 research at the Canadian Light Source

BESSY II at HZB (Germany) has set up a page where it shows their contributions to the research on SARS-CoV-2 , see here

DESY (Germany) has launched a new page dedicated to Corona Research: https://www.desy.de/news/corona_research/index_eng.html

Diamond Light Source (UK) has created a specific website “Coronavirus Science” with platforms for various audiences: scientific community, general public and the media: https://www.diamond.ac.uk/covid-19.html

ELETTRA (Italy) has launched a new page dedicated to COVID-19 research: https://www.elettra.eu/science/covid-19-research-at-elettra.html

The Photon Division of PSI (Switzerland) have collated many information linked to their institute on coronavirus-relevant research (recent publications, rapid access…): https://www.psi.ch/en/psd/covid-19

ALBA (Spain) has set up a dedicated area on their website for information related to COVID-19 (rapid access, publications etc): https://www.albasynchrotron.es/en/covid-19-information/

The ALS (CA/USA) has created a page listing all COVID-19 related research: https://als.lbl.gov/tag/covid-19/




Rapid access

Scientists can apply for rapid access at following facilities (only member facilities of Lightsources.org are referenced, the most recent published (or updated) call is mentioned first).

  • The National Synchrotron Light Source II (NSLS-II) in NY / USA is offering a streamlined and expedited rapid access proposal process for groups that require beam time for structural biology projects directly related to COVID-19. The Center for Biomolecular Structure team is supporting remote macromolecular crystallography experiments at Beamlines 17-ID-1 (AMX) and 17-ID-2 (FMX) in this research area. To submit a macromolecular crystallography proposal for COVID-19 related research, use the following form:
    https://surveys.external.bnl.gov/n/RapidAccessProposal.aspx
  • The Advanced Photon Source (APS) at Argonne National Laboratory in IL / USA  user program is operational to support:

·         Research on SARS-CoV-2 or other COVID-19-related research that addresses the current pandemic.

·         Critical, proprietary pharmaceutical research.

·         Mail-in/remote access work for any research involving low-risk samples and most medium-risk samples (as defined on the APS ESAF form).

·         Limited in situ research (set-up with one person, and ability to carry out majority of experiment safely remotely)
https://www.aps.anl.gov/Users-Information/About-Proposals/Apply-for-Time

PETRA III at DESY in Germany offers also Fast Track Access for Corona-related research:
https://photon-science.desy.de/users_area/fast_track_access_for_covid_19/index_eng.html

Australian Synchrotron at ANSTO makes its macromolecular crystallography beamlines available to structural biologists in response to the COVID-19 pandemic: https://www.ansto.gov.au/user-access

North American DOE lightsource facilities have created a platform to enable COVID-19 research. There you can find ressources and points of contact to request priority access:
Structural Biology Resources at DOE Light Sources

Elettra Sincrotrone Trieste in Italy opens to remote acces following beamlines: XRD1, XRD2, SISSI-BIO and MCX thanks to an CERIC-ERIC initiative:
https://www.ceric-eric.eu/2020/03/10/covid-19-fast-track-access/
http://www.elettra.eu/userarea/user-area.html

The Advanced Light Source (ALS) at LBNL in California / USA has capabilities relevant to COVID-19 and researchers can apply through their RAPIDD mechanism:
https://als.lbl.gov/apply-for-beamtime/

ALBA Synchrotron in Spain offers a COVID-19 RAPID ACCESS on all beamlines:
https://www.albasynchrotron.es/en/en/users/call-information

SOLARIS Synchrotron in Poland gives acces to its Cryo Electron Microscope thanks to an CERIC-ERIC initiative: https://www.ceric-eric.eu/2020/03/10/covid-19-fast-track-access/

Swiss Light Source and Swiss FEL at PSI in Switzerland offer priority access to combating COVID-19:
https://www.psi.ch/en/sls/scientific-highlights/priority-access-call-for-work-on-combating-covid-19

Diamond Light Source in the United Kingdom opened also a call for rapid access:
https://www.diamond.ac.uk/Users.html

Image: Electron density at the active site of the SARS-CoV-2 protease, revealing a fragment bound
Credit: Diamond Light Source

World’s first successful multi-bunch swap-out injection at the APS

World’s first successful multi-bunch swap-out injection at the APS

The upgraded Advanced Photon Source (APS), a U.S. Department of Energy Office of Science user facility located at Argonne National Laboratory, is now the world’s first synchrotron light source to use a multi-bunch swap-out method of replenishing the electron beam in its storage ring.

On April 29, 2024, Argonne’s Accelerator Systems Division (ASD) team successfully demonstrated multi-bunch swap-out injection of a stored beam of electrons. Regular injections into the ring are required because electron beams have a limited lifetime. Electrons scatter as they circulate, and eventually the beam is depleted and must be replenished. In the late 1990s, the APS pioneered top-up injection, which provides nearly constant stored beam current to X-ray experiments by “topping up” electron bunches that have lost electrons. This has become a standard operation mode for light sources worldwide.

Read more on APS website

Image: The near constant storage ring current is the result of electron bunches being injected through the booster to storage ring transfer line (BTS) while a corresponding electron bunch in the storage ring is kicked out into the swap-out dump.

IRIS beamline at BESSY II extended with nanomicroscopy

IRIS beamline at BESSY II extended with nanomicroscopy

The IRIS infrared beamline at the BESSY II storage ring now offers a fourth option for characterising materials, cells and even molecules on different length scales. The team has extended the IRIS beamline with an end station for nanospectroscopy and nanoimaging that enables spatial resolutions down to below 30 nanometres. The instrument is also available to external user groups. 

The infrared beamline IRIS at the BESSY II storage ring is the only infrared beamline in Germany that is also available to external user groups and is therefore in great demand. Dr Ulrich Schade, in charge of the beamline, and his team continue to develop the instruments to enable unique, state-of-the-art experimental techniques in IR spectroscopy. 

Read more on HZB website

Image: Infrared image of the nucleolus in the nucleus of a fibroblast cell. The scale bar corresponds to 500 nanometres.

Credit: HZB

Perfecting the View on a Crystal’s Imperfection

Perfecting the View on a Crystal’s Imperfection

New research shines light on the properties and promise of hexagonal boron nitride, a material used in electronic and photonics technologies

EW YORK — Single-photon emitters (SPEs) are akin to microscopic lightbulbs that emit only one photon (a quantum of light) at a time. These tiny structures hold immense importance for the development of quantum technology, particularly in applications such as secure communications and high-resolution imaging. However, many materials that contain SPEs are impractical for use in mass manufacturing due to their high cost and the difficulty of integrating them into complex devices.

In 2015, scientists discovered SPEs within a material called hexagonal boron nitride (hBN). Since then, hBN has gained widespread attention and application across various quantum fields and technologies, including sensors, imaging, cryptography, and computing, thanks to its layered structure and ease of manipulation.

The emergence of SPEs within hBN stems from imperfections in the material’s crystal structure, but the precise mechanisms governing their development and function have remained elusive. Now, a new study published in Nature Materials reveals significant insights into the properties of hBN, offering a solution to discrepancies in previous research on the proposed origins of SPEs within the material. The study involves a collaborative effort spanning three major institutions: the Advanced Science Research Center at the CUNY Graduate Center (CUNY ASRC); the National Synchrotron Light Source II (NSLS-II) user facility at Brookhaven National Laboratory; and the National Institute for Materials Science. Gabriele Grosso, a professor with the CUNY ASRC’s Photonics Initiative and the CUNY Graduate Center’s Physics program, and Jonathan Pelliciari, a beamline scientist at NSLS-II, led the study.

The collaboration was sparked by a conversation at the annual NSLS-II and Center for Functional Nanomaterials Users’ Meeting when researchers from CUNY ASRC and NSLS-II realized how their unique expertise, skills, and resources could uncover some novel insights, sparking the idea for the hBN experiment. The work brought together physicists with diverse areas of expertise and instrumentation skillsets who rarely collaborate in such a close manner.

Using advanced techniques based on X-ray scattering and optical spectroscopy, the research team uncovered a fundamental energy excitation occurring at 285 millielectron volts. This excitation triggers the generation of harmonic electronic states that give rise to single photons — similar to how musical harmonics produce notes across multiple octaves.

Read more on BNL website

Image: NSLS-II scientists Jiemin Li, Valentina Bisogni, Shiyu Fan, and Jonathan Pelliciari at the SIX beamline

Credit: Kevin Coughlin/Brookhaven National Laboratory

Keane wins 2024 Gopal K. Shenoy Excellence in Beamline Science Award

Keane wins 2024 Gopal K. Shenoy Excellence in Beamline Science Award

Physicist Denis T. Keane is the 2024 recipient of the Gopal K. Shenoy Excellence in Beamline Science Award. He is a beamline scientist and director of the Dupont-Northwestern-Dow Collaborative Access Team (DND-CAT) at the U.S. Department of Energy’s (DOE) Advanced Photon Source (APS) at DOE’s Argonne National Laboratory. He is also a research professor in the Materials Science and Engineering Department at Northwestern University.

The annual award recognizes active beamline scientists at the APS, a DOE Office of Science user facility, for significant contributions to research or instrumentation and support of the beamline user community. The APS Users Office, which grants the award, renamed it in 2017 in honor of the late Gopal K. Shenoy. Shenoy was an accomplished materials scientist closely involved in the inception of the APS as well as an enthusiastic supporter of scientists who conducted research there.

“It is a special honor to receive the Gopal K. Shenoy award,” said Keane. ​“Thirty years ago, Gopal welcomed us to the APS as we began building the DND beamlines, and his leadership was vital in enabling us and the APS to succeed. I am grateful to my scientific collaborators and the DND staff for our partnership, and to DuPont, Northwestern, Dow and the APS for their support.”

Keane has served as director of DND-CAT since 2005. Located in sector five of the APS, the state-of-the-art X-ray facility is unique in that it combines industrial scale testing and product development with academic vigor, meaning Keane has the challenging task of balancing the needs and expectations of both industry and academic partners. He is also taking on the job of upgrading the DND-CAT facility concurrently with the APS Upgrade.

Read more on APS website

Image: Physicist Denis T. Keane is the 2024 recipient of the Gopal K. Shenoy Excellence in Beamline Science Award.

Credit: Denis T. Keane

World leader in single-atom catalysts relies on CLS to drive advances in field

World leader in single-atom catalysts relies on CLS to drive advances in field

There is a high level of interest, even excitement, among chemists and materials scientists about the potential of single-atom catalysts (SACs) but their development relies on very specialized tools available only at synchrotrons like the Canadian Light Source (CLS) at the University of Saskatchewan (USask).

“This is a really exciting research area,” said Dr. Peng Zhang, professor of chemistry and of biomedical engineering at Dalhousie University, and a long-time CLS user.

Catalysts are nanoparticles coated with materials – often expensive metals like platinum, palladium and gold – that speed up chemical reactions. A significant drawback for conventional catalysts is that only a small percentage of the catalytic material is used in the chemical reaction, making them inefficient and wasteful, explained Zhang.

With growing demand for clean and sustainable energy, using SACs in energy systems can help the environment and save money. SACs have benefits like making reactions more efficient, using less rare metals, and improving the performance of devices like fuel cells and batteries. They can also help store renewable energy from sources like the sun and wind, making it more reliable.

In the case of automotive catalytic converters, which are designed to convert exhaust emissions into less toxic pollutants, Zhang said less than half of the platinum atoms in the catalyst are available for the necessary chemical reaction.

The goal of SAC research is to control the surface atomic structure of catalysts with individual atoms of the catalytic material in a matrix of less-expensive material, ensuring all of the material is available for the reaction. “When you design the catalyst to have a single-atom structure, you can significantly improve their activity and performance in the catalytic application,” said Zhang.

The challenges of working at the level of a single atom are significant, he admitted, but that is where the CLS comes in.

“If you think about single-atom catalysts, they’re so small that you need a special research tool to uncover their structure,” to understand how the atoms are arranged and what atoms are present. “Even with the most powerful electron microscope, you can probably see an individual atom, but if you’re using synchrotron technology, you can get a resolution 100 times smaller.”

Read more on CLS website

First stored electron beam in new APS storage ring

First stored electron beam in new APS storage ring

On April 20, 2024 the upgraded Advanced Photon Source (APS) took another important step forward, as the Accelerator Systems Division (ASD) team reported the first stored beam in the new storage ring. 

After announcement of first electron turns in the storage ring, the accomplishment on April 20 shows a 0.15 mA beam current stored in the new ring. This feat demonstrates that the main storage ring systems – including 1,321 magnets, 2,247  power supplies, 560 beam position monitors, 1,104 meters of vacuum chamber, and 12 accelerating radiofrequency cavities – all function as designed.

Read more on APS website

European XFEL elicits secrets from an important nanogel

European XFEL elicits secrets from an important nanogel

An international team led by Felix Lehmkühler from Deutsches Elektronen-Synchrotron DESY in Hamburg has investigated the temperature induced swelling and collapsing of the polymer poly-N-isopropylacrylamide (PNIPAm) at European XFEL at Schenefeld near Hamburg. Due to its dynamic changes, PNIPAm is used in medicine, e.g. for drug delivery, tissue engineering or sensorics.

PNIPAm is typically dissolved in water. Above a certain temperature, the so-called lower critical solution temperature (LCST), which is around 32 °C, it changes from a hydrophilic, water-loving state to a hydrophobic, water-repellent state. As consequence, nanogel particles, as investigated by Lehmkühler and co-workers, rapidly change their size above that temperature by expelling water.

This feature is useful for a variety of applications, including the controlled release of drugs in a patient’s body, as a model system for proteins and in tissue engineering, the cultivation of organic tissue for medical applications, or as bio-compatible temperature sensors. However, it was very difficult so far to watch these rapid phase transitions experimentally, and therefore to optimize them for different applications. Therefore, the precise characterisation of the kinetics of the changes of the PNIPAm polymer with temperature is still a lively research topic.

Read more on XFEL website

Image: Felix Lehmkühler at the instrument MID (Materials Imaging & Dynamics) of European XFEL where the experiments were done.

Credit: European XFEL

A simpler way to inorganic perovskite solar cells

A simpler way to inorganic perovskite solar cells

Inorganic perovskite solar cells made of CsPbI3 are stable over the long term and achieve good efficiencies. A team led by Prof. Antonio Abate has now analysed surfaces and interfaces of CsPbI3 films, produced under different conditions, at BESSY II. The results show that annealing in ambient air does not have an adverse effect on the optoelectronic properties of the semiconductor film, but actually results in fewer defects. This could further simplify the mass production of inorganic perovskite solar cells.

Metal halide perovskites have optoelectronic properties that are ideally suited for photovoltaics and optoelectronics. When they were discovered in 2009, halide perovskites in solar cells achieved an efficiency of 3.9 per cent, which then increased extremely fast. Today, the best perovskite solar cells achieve efficiencies of more than 26 per cent. However, the best perovskite semiconductors contain organic cations such as methylammonium, which cannot tolerate high temperatures and humidity, so their long-term stability is still a challenge. However, methylammonium can be replaced by inorganic cations such as Cesium (Cs). Inorganic halide perovskites with the molecular formula CsPbX3 (where X stands for a halide such as chloride, bromide and iodide) remain stable even at temperatures above 300 °C. CsPbI3 has the best optical properties for photovoltaics (band gap ∼1.7 eV).

Production in glove boxes

Perovskite semiconductors are produced by spin coating or printing from a solution onto a substrate and are typically processed in glove boxes under a controlled atmosphere: There, the solvent is evaporated by heating, after which a thin layer of perovskite crystallizes. This ‘controlled environment’ significantly increases the cost and complexity of production.

…or ambient conditions

In fact, CsPbI3 layers can also be annealed under ambient conditions without loss or even with an increase in efficiency of up to 19.8 per cent, which is even better than samples annealed under controlled conditions.

What happens at the interfaces?

“We investigated the interfaces between CsPbI3 and the adjacent material in detail using a range of methods, from scanning electron microscopy to photoluminescence techniques and photoemission spectroscopy at BESSY II,” says Dr. Zafar Iqbal, first author and postdoctoral researcher in Antonio Abate’s team.

Read mpre on HZB website

Image: Under the scanning electron microscope, the CsPbI3 layer (large blocks in the upper part of the image) on the FTO substrate looks almost exactly the same after annealing in ambient air as after annealing under controlled conditions.

Credit: HZB

Röntgen medal for Robert Feidenhans’l

Röntgen medal for Robert Feidenhans’l

The Danish physicist Robert Feidenhans’l has spent almost his entire career working in the field of X-ray synchrotron radiation and free-electron lasers and is regarded as a pioneer in the use of X-rays from synchrotron radiation facilities. He is a co-founder of surface crystallography and was the first person to succeed in precisely determining surface structures experimentally. Feidenhans’l is an outstanding researcher who always regarded science as a means of promoting international understanding and collaboration.

His research includes nanophysics, in particular research into nanowires and the development of X-ray techniques for analysing materials. He was also instrumental in the development of X-ray imaging methods for the three-dimensional characterisation of materials and biological tissue, and was involved in high-resolution micro X-ray tomography in medicine, for example to investigate the interaction between bones and implants.

Between 2017 and 2023, Feidenhans’l was Chairman of the Management Board of the European X-ray laser and responsible for the transition from construction into full user operation. The international research facility in Schenefeld near Hamburg is one of the most powerful X-ray lasers in the world.

During his career, he has held numerous positions in science management. For example, he was Chairman of the Danish National Committee for Crystallography (1998-2007), Chairman of the Council of the European Synchrotron Radiation Facility (ESRF) (2006-2010), Chairmen of the European XFEL Council (2010-2014), Member of the Danish Academy of Technical Sciences (ATV) (since 2015), Chairman of the Board of MAX IV (since January 2023), member of the Board of Trustees of the Joachim Herz Foundation (since January 2023) and Member of the Scientific Advisory Board at the Advanced Light Source in Berkeley, USA (since 2024).

Read more on XFEL website

Image: The German Röntgen Museum honours Robert for his work on X-ray imaging methods.

Credit: European XFEL

Spintronics: A new path to room temperature swirling spin textures

Spintronics: A new path to room temperature swirling spin textures

A team at HZB has investigated a new, simple method at BESSY II that can be used to create stable radial magnetic vortices in magnetic thin films.

In some materials, spins form complex magnetic structures within the nanometre and micrometre scale in which the magnetization direction twists and curls along specific directions. Examples of such structures are magnetic bubbles, skyrmions, and magnetic vortices. Spintronics aims to make use of such tiny magnetic structures to store data or perform logic operations with very low power consumption, compared to today’s dominant microelectronic components. However, the generation and stabilization of most of these magnetic textures is restricted to a few materials and achievable under very specific conditions (temperature, magnetic field…).

A new approach

An international collaboration led by HZB physicist Dr Sergio Valencia has now investigated a new approach that can be used to create and stabilize complex spin textures, such as radial vortices, in a variety of compounds. In a radial vortex, the magnetization points towards or away from the center of the structure. This type of magnetic configuration is usually highly unstable. Within this novel approach radial vortices are created with the help of superconducting structures while their stabilization is achieved by the presence of surface defects.

Superconducting YBCO-islands

Samples consist of micrometer size islands made of the high-temperature superconductor YBCO on which a ferromagnetic compound is deposited. On cooling the sample below 92 Kelvin (-181 °C), YBCO enters the superconducting state. In this state, an external magnetic field is applied and immediately removed. This process allows the penetration and pinning of magnetic flux quanta, which in turn creates a magnetic stray field. It is this stray field which produces new magnetic microstructures in the overlying ferromagnetic layer: spins emanate radially from the structure centre, as in a radial vortex.

Read more on HZB website

The relationship between the structure of polyurethane frameworks and the structural and superconducting properties of Y-123 foams

The relationship between the structure of polyurethane frameworks and the structural and superconducting properties of Y-123 foams

A Polish team of researchers led by Dr. Paweł Pęczkowski from the Institute of Physical Sciences, Faculty of Mathematics and Natural Sciences, Cardinal Stefan Wyszyński University used the PIRX beam to study the properties of the electronic structure of superconducting foams obtained on the basis of polyurethane foams. The research results were published in the Journal of the European Ceramic Society published by Elsevier.

High-temperature superconductors (HTS) are most often produced in one of three varieties – thin film, wire (tape) and loose. This division results from the properties of these superconductors, which originate from their microstructure. High-temperature superconductors can be produced in a fourth variant with a foam structure. Superconductors with a foam structure have a much shorter cooling time, so the transition or return to the superconducting state from the normal state is much faster than in the case of solid samples manufactured using the top-seeded infiltration-growth (TSIG) method. Additionally, they are lightweight and exhibit fewer micro-cracks, which are the main factor limiting the critical current density in solid superconducting samples. These unique features make superconducting foams an excellent material for space applications, where it is necessary to use strong and light sources of magnetic fields to build, for example, docking mechanisms for space vehicles and ion engines. However, before superconducting foams are used, several basic questions need to be answered: what is the impact of changes in the foam structure (e.g. size and shape of pores) on superconducting properties, how does current flow in the three-dimensional structure of the foam and what is its impact on the properties related to ability to anchor vortexes (pinning centers).

Read more on SOLARIS website

Image: (a) Y-211 foam before and (b) after Y-035 infiltration process; (c) Y-123 – final foam levitation in a magnetic field

Synchrotron light helps study the past, prevent corrosion in future

Synchrotron light helps study the past, prevent corrosion in future

Techniques developed by researchers from Western University for creating images of old, badly tarnished photographs could also be used to study other historic artifacts and fossils and prevent corrosion on modern materials.  

Professor T.K. Sham and colleagues recently confirmed that a new synchrotron imaging technique they developed is just as effective for retrieving corroded daguerreotypes (the earliest form of photographs) as a technique they first reported on back in 2018, and can also be used no matter how badly damaged the image surface is from natural corrosion or cleaning attempts. The new research, which used beamlines at the Canadian Light Source (CLS) at the University of Saskatchewan (USask), is published in the Journal of Cultural Heritage.

“This technique can be used widely in all walks of science, from looking at tissues to materials science,” said Sham. “For example, you could determine whether or how a metal may be corrosion-resistant, or in the case of an already corroded material you can learn what the product of that corrosion is and its distribution on the surface, and then you can work back and think about how to prevent that corrosion from happening.” 

Sham said many applications are possible because synchrotron X-ray is very tunable, which means it can pick out any element and find out what its chemical surrounding is and where it is placed in the sample, even imaging it layer by layer. 

When it comes to the conservation of antiques, Sham’s research could be a game changer too, especially for studying artifacts or fossils that have severe surface deterioration.  

As part of his new research, he uncovered images of a lady and a gentleman fashionably dressed in mid 1850s garments, and one of a baby peacefully wrapped in covers. All of these daguerreotypes, belonging to private collectors and the National Gallery of Canada, were badly damaged — slow deterioration mixed with cleaning attempts may have caused the tarnish. 

He proved that this synchrotron technique is always effective as long as the image particles underneath the tarnish remain intact, a discovery advancing his 2018 study in Scientific Reports. This research was done using the VESPERS and the SXRMB beamlines at the CLS and at the Advanced Photon Source at Argonne National Laboratory near Chicago.

Read more on CLS website

First electrons circulation in the new APS storage ring

First electrons circulation in the new APS storage ring

Electrons have made their way around the new Advanced Photon Source (APS) storage ring for the first time, a major milestone in the process of bringing the newly upgraded APS into operation. 

On April 13, 2024, members of the Accelerator Systems Division (ASD) injected an electron bunch into the new storage ring and confirmed that it traveled the full circumference. Electron bunches injected on April 14, 2024 have now circulated more than a dozen times. This is not only a first, but an important step for the new machine, as the smallest obstruction, misalignment or power supply oscillation (for example) can affect the trajectory of an electron beam. With such a low-emittance beam, even miniscule changes such as these would be detrimental.

Read more on APS website

Image: Plot from the APS accelerator logs signifying first turns of electrons in the new storage ring.

Protecting drinking water on prairies from emerging pollutant

Protecting drinking water on prairies from emerging pollutant

With the help of the Canadian Light Source (CLS) at the University of Saskatchewan (USask), researchers from the University of Guelph (UofG) have learned more about an emerging pollutant that is prevalent in groundwater across the Prairies.

“Sulfolane is commonly used to treat sour gas, and there are large contaminant plumes across Canada, specifically in Alberta,” says Erica Pensini, Associate Professor at University of Guelph’s School of Engineering. “We’ve been looking at how sulfolane migrates in groundwater, analyzing the risks to potable waters, such as wells, or other ecological bodies of water.”

Pensini is particularly interested in how naturally occurring sulfates (salts) impact the movement of sulfolane in water and its ability to mix thoroughly with water.

“Sulfolane plumes travel faster with fewer sulfates, so we’re trying to clarify migration in the context of what can we do to tackle this contamination,” says Pensini. “How much time do we have? Where is it going? Which well should we protect?”

Sulfolane has recently been linked to fertility issues in cattle and has been found in their milk.

“We’re also partnering up with hydrogeologists and eco-toxicologists to explore other aspects that we’re not directly exploring in our lab,” says Pensini.

Read more on CLS website

Commissioning of new APS storage ring begins

Commissioning of new APS storage ring begins

The Advanced Photon Source (APS) Upgrade project officially moved into a new phase today, as commissioning of the new storage ring began.

The start of commissioning follows a successful Accelerator Readiness Review (ARR) conducted from March 25-28, and the subsequent approval from the DOE Argonne Site Office. It marks a major milestone in the upgrade project and a big step toward bringing the rejuvenated APS facility to life. 

The upgrade of the APS has been in the planning stages for a decade. Over the past year, the team has removed the original storage ring and assembled not just the 200 modules of the new one, but literally thousands of associated components and systems in its place, followed by a thorough test and checkout of the new systems. The new electron storage ring has been designed to generate X-ray beams that will be up to 500 times brighter than those of the original APS.

Read more on APS website

BESSY II: How pulsed charging enhances the service time of batteries

BESSY II: How pulsed charging enhances the service time of batteries

An improved charging protocol might help lithium-ion batteries to last much longer. Charging with a high-frequency pulsed current reduces ageing effects, an international team demonstrated. The study was led by Philipp Adelhelm (HZB and Humboldt University) in collaboration with teams from the Technical University of Berlin and Aalborg University in Denmark. Experiments at the X-ray source BESSY II were particularly revealing.

Ageing effects analysed

Lithium-ion batteries are powerful, and they are used everywhere, from electric vehicles to electronic devices. However, their capacity gradually decreases over the course of hundreds of charging cycles. The best commercial lithium-ion batteries with electrodes made of so-called NMC532 (molecular formula: LiNi0.5Mn0.3Co0.2O2) and graphite have a service life of up to eight years. Batteries are usually charged with a constant current flow. But is this really the most favourable method? A new study by Prof Philipp Adelhelm’s group at HZB and Humboldt-University Berlin answers this question clearly with no. The study in the journal Advanced Energy Materials analyses the effect of the charging protocol on the service time of the battery.

Part of the battery tests were carried out at Aalborg University. The batteries were either charged conventionally with constant current (CC) or with a new charging protocol with pulsed current (PC). Post-mortem analyses revealed clear differences after several charging cycles: In the CC samples, the solid electrolyte interface (SEI) at the anode was significantly thicker, which impaired the capacity. The team also found more cracks in the structure of the NMC532 and graphite electrodes, which also contributed to the loss of capacity. In contrast, PC-charging led to a thinner SEI interface and fewer structural changes in the electrode materials.

Read more on HZB website