Explosive Prevention for 1,000km Next-Gen Battery!

Explosive Prevention for 1,000km Next-Gen Battery!

A solution to the gas-filling problem of the next-generation long-distance battery1) has emerged.
A team led by Professor Lee Hyun-wook of UNIST’s Department of Energy and Chemical Engineering has identified the cause of Oxygen generation in olig Lithium of a new anode material for batteries and presented material design principles to solve this problem.

Overlithium materials can theoretically store 30% to 70% more energy in batteries than before through high-pressure charging of 4.5V or higher. In terms of electric vehicle mileage, you can go up to 1,000 kilometers on a single charge. However, this material has a problem of increasing the risk of explosion as Oxygen (O-2) held inside the material is oxidized and released as gas (O2) during the actual high-pressure charging process.

The research team analyzed that Oxygen is oxidized near 4.25V, causing partial structural deformation and releasing Oxygen gas. They proposed an electrode material design method that fundamentally prevents the oxidation of Oxygen. This strategy involves replacing some of the transition metals2) of Lithium materials with transition metal elements with lower electronegativity.

The difference in electronegativity between the two metal elements causes the number of available electrons in the transition metal to increase, and Oxygen does not oxidize when electrons are concentrated around the highly electronegativity element. On the other hand, when the number of available electrons in the transition metal is insufficient, Oxygen gives electrons instead. It is oxidized to be discharged in the form of a gas.

The first author, Kim Min-ho (Currently a postdoctoral researcher at UCLA), explained “the difference between existing research that has focused on stabilizing Oxygen and preventing it from being discharged in the form of gas, whereas present research has focused on preventing the oxidizing process itself.”

In addition, this change in electron density increases the charging voltage through an Inductive Effect3), thereby increasing the high energy density attainable. Since the energy density is proportional to the number of available electrons and the charging voltage, it is possible to store more energy per unit weight of the battery to replace the transition metal. This phenomenon is similar to the principle that if there’s more water in the dam and the drop is more significant, more energy is stored.

The researchers experimentally confirmed the transition metal substitution strategy’s inhibitory effect on Oxygen oxidation. Accelerator-based X-ray analysis showed that the generation of Oxygen gas was significantly reduced when a part of Ruthenium was replaced with Nickel. Furthermore, they theoretically demonstrated that charge rearrangement occurs through density functional calculation (DFT).

This study was conducted by Professor Seo Dong-hwa of KAIST, Chung-Ang University, Pohang Accelerator Laboratory, Professor Yu Zhang Li of UCLA, UC Berkeley, and Lawrence Berkeley Research Institute. The accelerator-based X-ray analysis was conducted by Professor Jang Hae-sung of Chung-Ang University (Co-first author), and the DFT theoretical calculation was led by Dr. Lee Eun-ryul (Co-first author) of the Lawrence Berkeley Institute in the United States.

Professor Lee Hyun-wook said, “We presented the direction of material development to cathode material researchers by librarying technology through various experiments and theoretical analysis,” adding, “It will help to develop long-distance driving battery materials without explosions with increased energy density.”

The study was carried out with the support of the National Research Foundation of Korea (NRF)’s international cooperation and development project on source technology. The results were published online on Feb. 19 in ‘Science Advances’, a sister paper of the world-renowned journal ‘Science’ published by the American Science Association (AAAS).

Read more on PAL website

Breakthrough in next-generation polio vaccines

Breakthrough in next-generation polio vaccines

A more affordable, lower-risk vaccine could soon be possible following research conducted at Diamond’s electron Bio-Imaging Centre (eBIC).

Scientists have made significant progress in developing a more cost-effective and safer polio vaccine, something which is essential for the global effort to eliminate the disease. Polioviruses mainly affect children under five years of age, with some infections leading to irreversible paralysis and sometimes death.  

For the last three decades, the World Health Organization, which funded the study, has been focused on the worldwide eradication of polio. Since 1988, poliovirus cases have decreased by 99% and the possibility of eliminating this disease is on the horizon. The prospect of a new type of vaccine could play a significant part in this endeavour.

The research project looked at using virus-like particles (VLPs). These particles imitate the outer protein structure of the poliovirus but are hollow inside and do not contain any viral genetic material. This eliminates the risk of infection while still triggering an immune response. 

Researchers from the University of Leeds have been exploring how different types of cells – yeast, mammalian and plant cells – can be used to produce VLPs. Their findings, recently published in Nature, indicate that VLPs generated in yeast and insect cells can perform equally or better than the currently used inactivated polio vaccine (IPV).  

Peijun Zhang, director of eBIC, said:

Cryo-EM at eBIC enables scientists to determine the detailed 3D structure of VLPs, revealing how they resemble real viruses in shape and protein arrangement. This helps researchers optimise the design of VLP-based vaccines to ensure they trigger a strong immune response while remaining non-infectious.

The current polio vaccine (IPV) is relatively expensive to use as it requires a high level of biocontainment to minimise the risk of leaks of the live polio virus, which could lead to outbreaks. In contrast, the VLP simulated particles are non-infectious, therefore removing the need for bio-safety protocols.   

Professor Nicola Stonehouse, of the University of Leeds School of Molecular and Cellular Biology and one of the senior authors on the paper, said: “Any vaccine is only as effective as the number of children that it reaches. The key is to make vaccines universally accessible, as all children have a right to be protected from diseases such as polio, no matter where they live. VLPs would significantly contribute to vaccine equity.”

The plan to eradicate polio

The oral polio vaccine (OPV) contains a weakened vaccine-virus and its continued use could hinder the complete eradication of the disease. Once all strains of wild poliovirus strains are eradicated, the use of OPV will be phased out. This is because the weakened form of the virus in the OPV can sometimes mutate and cause variant forms. When the use of the OPV stops, the IPV will be the only available vaccine. However, its expensive manufacturing procedure make it unaffordable for lower-income countries, possibly leading to a reduction in vaccination rates.  

The virus-like particle (VLP) vaccines are the promising alternative, as with no viral genetic material, they are non-infectious and safer than traditional vaccines. They can also be engineered to be more stable, which maintains their effectiveness during storage or transportation. 

This could eventually lead to a more equitable access to vaccination, ensuring that countries that do not have suitable infrastructure can safely store and distribute the vaccine.  

VLP vaccines have already been successfully used for other diseases, like hepatitis B and human papillomavirus (HPV), and researchers have been working for over a decade to successfully apply this technology to help eradicate polio.  

The international research collaboration includes researchers from the University of Oxford, the Medicines and Healthcare products Regulatory Agency (MHRA), the John Innes Centre, the Pirbright Institute, the University of Florida and the University of Reading. All of the cryo-EM data was collected at eBIC.  

Read more on Diamond website

Manipulating polarons in thin-film tellurene shows promise for advanced electronics

Manipulating polarons in thin-film tellurene shows promise for advanced electronics

Polarons are quantum entities that arise in crystalline solids due to interactions between electrons and quantized lattice vibrations (phonons). Characterizing polaron behavior is important to scientists because they can play an important role in solid-state phenomena such as thermoelectricity, ferroelectricity, magnetoresistance, and high-temperature superconductivity. While polarons have been extensively investigated in bulk (3D) lattices, few investigations have probed polarons in one- and two-dimensional crystalline structures.

In this research, scientists probed flakes of tellurene with thicknesses of less than 20 nanometers, using a technique called extended X-ray absorption fine structure (EXAFS) spectroscopy. This work was carried out at beamline 20-BM of the Advanced Photon Source, a U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) Office of Science user facility at DOE’s Argonne National Laboratory.

The EXAFS measurements characterized the structural changes in tellurene as flake thickness decreased, suggesting a transition from large-to-small polarons at a thickness of 10 nanometers. The experimental results gleaned from EXAFS, along with Raman spectroscopy data, were buttressed by theoretical insights and quantitative modeling that together provide a highly developed picture of polaron behavior as tellurene thickness varies.

These new findings will aid in developing the significant potential of tellurene for various technological applications, such as use in advanced transistors and sensing devices, and as a superconducting material. More broadly, these findings will also contribute to a deeper understanding of polaron behavior in other thin-film materials.

Tellurene is a thin-film semiconductor composed of helical chains of tellurium (Te) atoms. Because these helical chains interact through weak forces, it is sometimes referred to as a “quasi-one-dimensional” material. Tellurene is appealing for use in a variety of electronic applications due to its P-type semiconductor properties, which make it suitable for creating PN junctions when paired with N-type materials.

Tellurene samples were synthesized using a hydrothermal method that immerses the source materials in a closed bath of water-based solution subjected to high heat and pressure. Tellurium atoms subsequently precipitate out of the aqueous solution onto a substrate, forming tellurene flakes of varying thicknesses. Figure 1A shows a typical flake about 10 micrometers across and 9 nanometers thick. Fig. 1B is an electron microscope image of tellurene.

Phonons can exist in thin films as well as bulk 3D crystals. Just as a photon of light is a discrete unit (quantum) of electromagnetic energy, a phonon is the quantum of vibrational energy of a crystalline lattice. In tellurene, phonons can be polarized, meaning they vibrate along a particular direction, due to tellurene’s crystalline structure (Fig. 1C).

When a phonon strongly interacts with an electron in a crystalline lattice, a quasiparticle called a polaron is formed. A quasiparticle is not an actual particle, like an atom or electron, but rather a collective excitation. However, since the interaction between an electron and phonon is quite complex, treating polarons as quasiparticles makes them easier to describe both mathematically and conceptually.

Read more on APS website

Image: Optical image (A) of a tellurene flake. Superimposed lines indicate lattice structure, while inset indicates the depth profile. A scanning transmission electron microscopy (STEM) image of tellurene (B), with lavender lines highlighting lattice structure. Red arrows in panel (C) indicate lattice vibrations of individual tellurium atoms (purple spheres). These unbalanced vibrations produce polarized phonons. Plot of polaron size versus flake thickness in (D) shows that smaller polarons (with higher vibration frequency) arise in thinner flakes. Gray squares represent experimental data, while blue and red spheres are calculated from theory. Panel (E) illustrates small and large polarons. Arrows in magnified inset depict attractive (red) and repulsive (blue) electrical forces.

Molecule’s “fingerprint” may help explain formation of life on earth

Molecule’s “fingerprint” may help explain formation of life on earth

The chemical element sulphur is essential for all life forms and is a building block of proteins and amino acids. By studying sulphur-based molecules in space, scientists are working to understand the chemical processes that might have led to the formation of life on Earth.

German researchers from the Max Planck Institute for Extraterrestrial Physics recently discovered a special type of molecule called singly deuterated methyl mercaptan (CH2DSH). They found it near a young star, similar to our Sun.

Using the Canadian Light Source (CLS) at the University of Saskatchewan (USask), Dr. Hayley Bunn and colleagues were able to create a “fingerprint” of the molecule by analyzing how it shakes and rotates in response to ultrabright synchrotron light. Now, other researchers on the international team are using this fingerprint or signature to look for more of the same molecules in distant space. This could enable them to piece together how the molecules for life formed on Earth, billions of years ago.

“We are really trying to understand how far we can go, chemically, toward larger biological molecules and what environments are needed to form them,” says Bunn. “Ultimately it would be nice to answer one day, how is this then inherited into planets and hopefully life?”

The CLS synchrotron was pivotal to the success of Bunn’s research, since the vibrational signals of this basic molecule are extremely hard to detect. Synchrotron light is vastly brighter than conventional sources, making it possible to identify even the faintest signals.

Read more on CLS website

Researchers proved reversible alloy metallic nanocatalysts: a step forward to clean energies

Researchers proved reversible alloy metallic nanocatalysts: a step forward to clean energies

A team of researchers from several institutions in Spain, Germany, and Argentina, led by the ITQ-UPV-CSIC, has conducted a comprehensive exploration of the exsolution process in double perovskite oxides. The study, published in Journal of Materials Chemistry A, reveals important insights into how temperature controls nanoparticle composition, how these particles change during chemical cycling, and provides the first measurement of the reversibility of ternary alloyed nanoparticles.

Advanced X-ray techniques at the ALBA Synchrotron provided detailed views of both structural and surface changes during the exsolution process. This study is of great interest for the development of reversible electrochemical cells that can work in fuel cell and electrolyzer modes for renewable energy storage and production of green fuels.

Perovskite oxides are versatile materials prized for their tunable properties and diverse chemical characteristics, making them exceptional platforms for catalyst design in multiple clean energy technologies, including fuel cells and the conversion of CO₂ and water into CO and hydrogen. Their unique ability to release and—potentially—reabsorb metal nanoparticles makes these materials particularly valuable for creating stable, high-performance catalysts. Exsolution has emerged as a promising nanocatalyst fabrication route in the last decade. Through exsolution, perovskite oxides can produce well-anchored metal nanoparticles under controlled conditions. If this process can also work in reverse, it could enable catalyst regeneration.

However, little is known about how this release-reabsorb process works. For this reason, researchers at Instituto de Tecnología Química (ITQ-UPV-CSIC), the Helmholtz-Zentrum Berlin für Materialien und Energie GmbH (HZB) from Germany, the ALBA Synchrotron, and other research institutions in Spain and Argentina, used advanced X-ray techniques to observe the process in real-time in a quest to understand the dynamics of ternary alloyed nanoparticles. This study specifically examines how three metals—iron, cobalt, and nickel—combine to form nanoparticles within a complex oxide structure, aiming to understand what controls their formation and reversibility.

The researchers investigated the exsolution of ternary alloyed nanoparticles in a specially designed oxide material using a combination of in situ and ex situ techniques. They discovered that the exsolution temperature significantly influences the composition of the resulting nanoparticles. At lower temperatures, nickel-rich nanoparticles preferentially form due to the faster diffusion of nickel. Increasing the temperature promotes the exsolution of cobalt and iron, leading to a more homogeneous composition. This finding highlights the potential for tuning nanoparticle composition by controlling the exsolution temperature.

The study also explored the reversibility of the exsolution process, demonstrating that some nanoparticles can be reintegrated into the perovskite lattice upon oxidation, while others remain on the surface in an altered state. This reversibility has important implications for catalyst regeneration and stability.

Read more on ALBA website

Image: Schematic representation and field emission scanning electron microscopy micrographs of the ex situ redox processes affecting exsolution, oxidation and re-exolution.

Cutting-edge experiments reveal ‘hidden’ details in transforming material

Cutting-edge experiments reveal ‘hidden’ details in transforming material

Using SLAC’s LCLS for one of the first studies of its kind, researchers discover surprising behaviors of a complex material that could have important implications for designing faster microelectronic devices.

Phase changes are central to the world around us. Probably the most familiar example is when ice melts into water or water boils into steam, but phase changes also underlie heating systems and even digital memory, such as that used in smartphones. 

Triggered by pulses of light or electricity, some materials can switch between two different phases that represent binary code 0s and 1s to store information. Understanding how a material transforms from one state or phase to another is key to tailoring materials with specific properties that could, for instance, increase switching speed or operate at lower energy costs.

Read more on SLAC website

Image: In X-ray photon correlation spectroscopy, X-rays interact with a sample and produce interference patterns, called speckle patterns, that encode information about the structure of the material at the atomic and nanoscale. As a material transforms from one phase to another, the speckle pattern will change. The research team used these patterns to follow the changes in real time as a material transformed from one crystalline phase to another, triggered by a single pulse of light. 

 Credit: Aaron Lindenberg/SLAC National Accelerator Laboratory

Quantum heat dynamics toggled by magnetic fields

Quantum heat dynamics toggled by magnetic fields

Scientists discover unknown mechanism of heat conduction in quantum material

The ability to conduct heat is one of the most fundamental properties of matter, crucial for engineering applications. Scientists know well how conventional materials, such as metals and insulators, conduct heat. However, things are not as straightforward under extreme conditions such as temperatures close to absolute zero combined with strong magnetic fields, where strange quantum effects begin to dominate. This is particularly true in the realm of quantum materials. Researchers from the Helmholtz-Zentrum Dresden-Rossendorf (HZDR), University of Bonn, and Centre national de la recherche scientifique (CNRS) now exposed the semimetal zirconium pentatelluride (ZrTe5) to high magnetic fields and very low temperatures. They found dramatically enhanced heat oscillations caused by a novel mechanism. This finding challenges the widely held belief that magnetic quantum oscillations should not be detectable in the heat transport of semimetals, as the scientists report in the journal PNAS.

The quantum material ZrTe5 belongs to the class of so-called topological semimetals. In physics, the term “topological” describes special materials that, due to their unique electronic structure, have extremely robust (“topologically protected”) conduction properties. In such materials, quantum effects can lead to unconventional and often bizarre phenomena that could play a crucial role in advancing future quantum technologies. Notably, both research and industry are currently investing considerable effort into developing quantum computers, with topological materials emerging as a promising avenue for their realization. Like ZrTe₅: it combines a rare set of non-trivial electronic properties, making it potentially relevant for high-precision electronics applications and magnetic-field sensor technologies.

“When a normal metal such as silver or copper is placed in strong magnetic fields at temperatures close to absolute zero, that is −273.15 °C, its heat conduction is expected to oscillate − a striking example of quantum mechanical dynamics of electrons in metals. This effect arises due to the existence of the so-called Fermi surface, a boundary between occupied and unoccupied energy states of electrons in a metal”, Dr. Stanisław Gałeski, currently assistant professor at Radboud University and visiting scientist at the Dresden High Magnetic Field (HLD) laboratory at HZDR, explains. “On the other hand, in semimetals, there are very few electrons available to transport heat, and as such, heat conduction is widely believed to be dominated by phonons − emergent particles that represent crystal lattice vibrations. As such, quantum oscillations should not be detectable in the transport of heat”, Gałeski sums up more traditional expectations. However, several recent experiments have found giant quantum oscillations in the heat conduction of semimetals, questioning the mechanism of heat transport.

Read more on HZDR website

Image: Artistic visualization of a crystalline rod made of the semimetal ZrTe5. There is a heat gradient from one end to the other. In its center, giant oscillations in its heat conduction are toggled by the magnetic field, which is generated by the electromagnet below.

Credit: B. Schröder/HZDR

Volcano’s explosive eruptions defy predictions

Volcano’s explosive eruptions defy predictions

3D X-ray images can help scientists understand and mitigate hazards of strong volcanic eruptions

More than 800 million people live near an active volcano. Some of these volcanoes still defy existing models, making the exact prediction of their eruptions impossible. This is the case for Colli Albani in Italy which has produced major explosions in the past despite its magma being normally associated with mild effusive eruptions. An international team led by the University of Geneva (UNIGE) and including researchers from DESY and Helmholtz-Zentrum Hereon is shedding light on this mystery using an innovative approach: analysing crystals that retain traces of the last eruption using PETRA III. Published in the Journal of Petrology, this study paves the way for new analytical methods in volcanology and strengthens hazard mitigation.

Monitoring volcanoes to anticipate their potentially devastating effects requires a detailed understanding of the signals that precede an eruption. However, this task becomes challenging when a volcano defies predictive models—such as Colli Albani, located just 20 kilometres from Rome. In theory, its magmatic composition should result in low-intensity eruptions. Yet, its past eruptions tell a different story.

Magma contains volatiles (mainly water and carbon dioxide), like opening the cap of a bottle of soda, when the magma rises toward the surface, it releases the volatiles, and the more viscous the magma, the more difficult it is for the gas to escape. The retention of gas results in a progressive increase of pressure which eventually leads to violent explosive eruptions. In theory, Colli Albani should not pose this risk as its magma is not very viscous. Yet, it has produced several violent and large volume explosive eruptions, the most recent occurring 355,000 years ago, when it spewed up to 30 km³ of scorching ash and molten rock into the atmosphere.

To learn more, the research team analysed ‘‘melt inclusions’’ from the magma of the last eruption with the help of synchrotron radiation. These tiny droplets of magma, measuring just one-hundredth of a millimetre, were sealed inside crystals before the explosion, preserving valuable clues about the magma’s chemistry, its water and carbon dioxide content—key factors in its explosiveness—as well as its temperature and pressure. In total, the researchers studied 35 crystals containing 2,000 inclusions.

An Innovative Approach to Probing Magma

Scientists from UNIGE collaborated with several institutions, including DESY, the University of Rome Tre, the University of Bristol and the Helmholtz-Zentrum Hereon. Using PETRA III, the team was able to obtain high-resolution 3D X-ray images of magma inclusions.

“This approach is innovative in volcanology, particularly in the study of melt inclusions. It opens up new perspectives in the field,” explains Corin Jorgenson, first author of the study and a doctoral student at the Department of Earth Sciences of the UNIGE Faculty of Science at the time of the research, now a postdoctoral researcher at the University of Strathclyde in Scotland.

Read more on DESY website

Image: Photomicrograph of a clinopyroxene crystal. This mineral formed in a magma chamber. Melt Inclusions (in black) are present in these crystals.

Credit: Corin Jorgenson, University of Strathclyde

New material for efficient separation of Deuterium at elevated Temperatures

New material for efficient separation of Deuterium at elevated Temperatures

A novel porous material capable of separating deuterium (D2) from hydrogen (H2) at a temperature of 120 K has been introduced. Notably, this temperature exceeds the liquefaction point of natural gas, thus facilitating large-scale industrial applications. This advancement presents an attractive pathway for the economical production of D2 by leveraging the existing infrastructure of liquefied natural gas (LNG) production pipelines. The research conducted by Ulsan National Institute of Science & Technology (UNIST), Korea, Helmholtz-Zentrum Berlin, Heinz Maier Leibnitz Zentrum (MLZ), and Soongsil University, Korea, has been published in Nature Communications.

Deuterium, a stable isotope of hydrogen, plays a critical role in enhancing the durability and luminous efficiency of semiconductors and display devices, as well as serving as a fusion fuel in energy production. However, the increasing demand for D2 presents challenges in its production, primarily due to the need to separate from hydrogen through a cryogenic distillation process conducted at temperatures as low as 20 K (-253°C). While research has explored the use of metal-organic frameworks (MOFs) for D2 separation, their efficiency diminishes significantly at elevated temperatures.

In this study, the research team presented a copper-based zeolite imidazolate framework (Cu-ZIF-gis), which shows exceptional D2 separation performance, even at 120 K (-153℃). While typical MOFs operate effectively at around 23 K (-250℃), their performance decreases sharply as temperatures approach 77 K (-196℃). However, the newly developed Cu-based MOF demonstrates a significant advantage in maintaining its effectiveness at higher temperatures.

For the first time, the research team identified that the superior performance of this material results from the increased expansion of its lattice as the temperature rises. At cryogenic temperatures, the pores of the developed MOF are smaller than H2 molecules, thereby inhibiting their passage. However, as the temperature increases, the lattice expands, leading to an increase in pore size. This enlargement facilitates the passage of gases through the pores, thereby enabling the separation of H2 and D2 via the quantum sieving effect, wherein heavier molecules traverse the pores more efficiently at lower temperatures.

Confirmatory in-situ X-ray diffraction (XRD) and quasi-elastic neutron scattering (QENS) experiments, conducted at the Institut Laue-Langevin (ILL) in Grenoble, France, by the joint team from UNIST, HZB and MLZ, confirmed the expansion of the lattice framework with increasing temperature, as well as the difference in isotope diffusivity even at elevated temperatures. Additionally, the analysis from the Thermal Desorption Spectroscopy (TDS) experiments indicated stable D2 separation at elevated temperatures.

Read more on HZB website

Image: The crystal structure of Cu-ZIF-gis that shows cylindrical straight channels along the c-axis. The pores were calculated with Connolly surfaces with a probe of 1.1 Å. (Cu, orange; N, blue; C, gray; O, magenta; H, white).

Credit: Minji Jung / Department of Chemistry, UNIST

Non-destructive study of ancient glass and other vitreous materials from Southwest Asia

Non-destructive study of ancient glass and other vitreous materials from Southwest Asia

The availability of a SXCT (Synchrotron X-ray Computed Tomography) facility at the heart of Southwest Asia facilitates and enhances the non-destructive examination and conservation of ancient vitreous materials of the region, proving the relevance of the technique for archaeologists, museums, and cultural heritage specialists.

In recent measurements at SESAME’s ID10-BEATS beamline, users from Italy, Jordan, Palestine, Switzerland and Türkiye joined SESAME’s beamline scientists, Gianluca Iori, Latif Ullah Khan and Philipp Hans, in the application of Synchrotron X-ray Computed Tomography (SXCT) for the non-destructive analysis of ancient glass, faience, and several other vitreous materials. The results of their work have been published in the Journal of Cultural Heritage 

The international and multidisciplinary composition of this team demonstrates not only the wide-ranging applications of synchrotron techniques, but also the collaborative spirit fostered by the Facility. This highlights how SXCT serves as a versatile tool for cultural heritage research across different geographical and academic contexts, and shows its potential to address varied scientific and conservation challenges. 

The analysis of archaeological objects poses a set of challenges arising from the fragility and uniqueness of the materials, and requires special non-invasive techniques.

SXCT brings the solution to this as it provides high-resolution 3D X-ray images which, with no invasive techniques likely to damage the objects, permits the understanding of the structure and chemical composition of ancient artifacts. It also reveals details not detectable by conventional techniques.

Thanks to SXCT, researchers are able to examine fragile artifacts, and so understand how they were produced. It also provides information on their aging process, and how they are to be conserved for future generations, and this irrespective of the size of the objects.

Read more on SESAME website

Image: Detector Hasselblad lenses (1x magnification) with ORYS FLIR camera; 4.5 micron voxel size

Credit: SESAME

Targeted Destruction of Disease-Related Proteins

Targeted Destruction of Disease-Related Proteins

A new protein construct helps scientists study drugs that break down protein targets.

While most conventional drugs work by inhibiting proteins, not all proteins are easy to block in this fashion. Drug developers are investigating new classes of drugs that mark proteins for degradation in the cell. A large, barrel-shaped structure called the proteasome drives this breakdown process, and a protein called Cereblon behaves as an usher, delivering proteins to the proteasome for destruction. Some drugs act as “molecular glue”, sticking to Cereblon and altering its structure so that it binds to target proteins. Other drugs called proteolysis targeting chimeras (PROTACs) bind to target proteins and Cereblon, bridging the two together. Thus, an in-depth understanding of Cereblon’s morphology is crucial for drug investigations. However, scientists have struggled to determine high-resolution structures of this protein in the past due to complications with its synthesis and stability. David Zollman, a structural biologist and drug developer at the University of Dundee, and his colleagues developed a highly stable, easily purified Cereblon variant. Collecting X-ray crystallography data at the Diamond Light Source beamlines I04 and I24, they demonstrated that the structure of their Cereblon variant matched ones previously collected by other groups, but the new crystals achieved higher resolution. Cereblon changes shape when bound to different drugs, and the team collected small-angle X-ray scattering (SAXS) data at beamline B21 to study how shapeshifting varies between different drug candidates. Together, these findings reveal that the new Cereblon variant is amenable to structural analysis, which could facilitate future research into this promising class of protein-degrading drugs. 

Most conventional drugs work by inhibiting proteins. The pain-reliever ibuprofen, for example, blocks a bodily enzyme called cyclooxygenase by stoppering its active site and preventing it from producing chemical signals that induce pain. However, Zollman said that researchers have long considered some proteins “undruggable” because they lack active sites that can be targeted by inhibitors. These include proteins that have structural roles rather than enzymatic functions. Taking an alternative approach, scientists are exploring drugs that flag proteins for degradation in the cell by protein shredders called proteasomes. 

The most infamous example is the drug thalidomide, a sedative from the 1950s that pregnant women took to relieve morning sickness but led to birth defects. Today, doctors have repurposed thalidomide to treat multiple myeloma, and researchers have developed other drug candidates, like lenalidomide and mezigdomide to treat other cancers. Currently, there are over 40 drugs related to the degradation pathway in cells undergoing clinical trials. Many of them work by recruiting transcription factors to Cereblon and targeting them for destruction, thereby preventing the expression of an array of genes.  

Research into these drugs has been held back by a lack of structural insight into Cereblon. Previously, scientists could only purify Cereblon coupled with an adapter protein called Damage Specific DNA Binding Protein 1 (DDB1), resulting in an unwieldy complex. Scientists also struggled to produce high yields of the protein, and they could only prepare it in insect cell expression systems. When scientists managed to crystallize the protein, they found it was unstable, hampering efforts to collect high-resolution structural data. Most experiments determined the structure to a resolution of 3 Ångströms (Å) or worse. Dr Zollman said:

It’s expensive to produce, hard to get in large quantities, and then when you do have it, it’s quite poorly behaved.

What scientists needed was a stable version of Cereblon that was easy to purify in the absence of DDB1. Dr Zollman commented:

We have cut out the part of Cereblon that binds to DDB1, and because of that, we are able to produce it stably from E. coli on its own.

E. coli are the go-to bacteria for producing proteins for purification, making it easier to achieve high yields for scientific studies. 

Besides omitting the DDB1-binding domain, Zollman’s team designed 15 versions of Cereblon, some of which carried unique sets of mutations that swap out one amino acid for another in different places. They introduced these mutations to stabilize the proteins, and they discovered that version 8, complete with 12 mutations, proved most stable. “We can get it at a much higher yield, it’s much cheaper to produce, it’s much easier to produce, and then the complex does crystallize a lot better.” Zollman said version 8 is a “middle ground” between full-length Cereblon and other truncated versions trialled previously, so his team renamed it Cereblonmidi.  

Next, they had to put their crystallised Cereblonmidi to the test at the Diamond Light Source. Zollman said the protein formed small crystals, and the microfocus beams at beamlines I04 and I24 enabled his team to collect high-quality data from samples of this size. 

Read more on Diamond website

A Goldilocks promoter for a silver catalyst

A Goldilocks promoter for a silver catalyst

Nickel dopants could improve sustainable production of ethylene oxide, a chemical widely used in industrial manufacturing.

Plastics, textiles, detergents, adhesives and antifreeze all have something in common: They were made using ethylene oxide. This colorless gas, a chemical building block in the industrial production of many materials, is itself produced by reacting oxygen with ethylene. However, maximizing the amount of ethylene oxide produced poses unique challenges. 

Adding chlorine increases the efficiency of ethylene oxide production by 25 percent. But chlorine, which is corrosive to metal equipment, has its own drawbacks. Writing in Science, researchers at the University of California, Santa Barbara (UCSB), Tufts University, Brookhaven National Laboratory and Tulane University identified nickel as a promoter that can enhance the selectivity of the silver catalyst by about 25 percent, roughly the same amount as chlorine, but with fewer downsides. The team studied the interaction of nickel with the silver catalyst using X-rays from the Stanford Synchrotron Radiation Lightsource (SSRL) at the Department of Energy’s SLAC National Accelerator Laboratory. 

“From an environmental standpoint, if you remove chlorine, that’s one less toxic and corrosive material out of the process stream,” said Adam Hoffman, a staff scientist at SLAC who contributed to this work. “And if you can improve a catalyst’s activity to a target chemical, it improves the sustainability of the process as a whole.”

Charles Sykes, a chemist at Tufts University who led the effort, said it also makes financial sense. “Every one percent increase in the efficiency of the process saves around $200 million annually,” he said.

If you remove chlorine, that’s one less toxic and corrosive material out of the process stream.

Adam Hoffman SLAC Staff Scientist

A more selective catalyst doesn’t only maximize the amount of product, it is also more efficient overall. Post reaction, ethylene oxide must be separated from the side products and residual reactants, a process that requires additional energy inputs. If the reaction is more selective to ethylene oxide to begin with, it is easier to purify.

Read more on SLAC website

Image: A computer-generated image showing single nickel (Ni) atoms embedded in silver, used to enable efficient production of ethylene oxide. 

Credit: Elizabeth Happel/Tufts University

Scientists find ways to reduce oil intake in deep fried foods

Scientists find ways to reduce oil intake in deep fried foods

A new 4D imaging system has tracked the process of frying foods at the ESRF, in a quest to make the products absorb less oil and therefore, healthier. Their insights show that it is especially after frying, during the cooling process, that food absorbs oil, and that the amount of oil absorbed depends on the porous structure created during frying. The results are out in Nature Communications.

Fried foods are staple especially in Western diets due to their distinct flavour and sensory characteristics. The frying process causes foods to develop unique textures related to their crispy outside and soft inside.

“People like fried products because of the texture and the taste, but they have been claimed to be an ultra-processed food that we should try to minimise in our diet”, explains Pieter Verboven of KU Leuven in Belgium, corresponding author of the publication. “Still, the final composition is more of a concern than the process itself”, he adds. Therefore, the KU Leuven research team are investigating ways to reduce oil content but preserve texture and taste.

When we fry food, we submerge it into hot oil that is more than 160 °C. This leads to very fast evaporation of water and creates internal pressure in the form of steam, which results in an expanding porous structure. “This process is extremely fast, in the order of seconds, and we don’t have the tools to see what happens in real-time, so we need to come to the ESRF to be able to track the process”, says Verboven.

A fryer on the beamline

The team came to ID19 to carry out high-speed 4D computed tomography on wheat flour dough, a common food material subjected to deep-frying. The experiments took place as the dough was frying in a custom oil fryer and afterwards, during the post-frying cooling, with the aim of investigating the structural deformation and pore formation, as well as oil uptake. “The experiment was extremely complex, as we needed to scan the sample submerged in oil very fast to track all the changes at the microstructural level”, explains Bratislav Lukic, researcher at the ESRF and co-author of the publication, “The fryer was also equipped with sensors and actuators to precisely control the process remotely. Thanks to high flux at high energy of the Extremely Brilliant Source, we were able to reach sub-second scanning times while maintaining microscopic spatial resolution, all that in a very large fryer, which is representative of the process.”

They visualised how the product expands due to steam during the frying process, which hinders the oil from getting inside. At the same time, the physico-chemical changes in starch and gluten structure determine the pore structure. The trick is to control this process well to create the desired texture with a crispy crust and fluffy interior. The team found that oil is absorbed mostly during the cooling of the fried dough and, in smaller percentage, during the frying process itself.

Read more on ESRF website

Analyzing Metal Interface Reactions in All-Solid-State Batteries

Analyzing Metal Interface Reactions in All-Solid-State Batteries

This study developed a real-time X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS) analysis technique and utilized it to understand the lithium-ion behavior at metal interface layers in all-solid-state secondary batteries. Notably, the result of this research was published as a cover article in Advanced Energy Materials, one of the leading journals in the field, highlighting its significance.

Research Background and Goals
All-solid-state batteries (ASSBs) are gaining attention as next-generation batteries, offering higher energy density and enhanced safety than conventional liquid lithium-ion batteries (LIBs). In particular, lithium lanthanum zirconium oxide (LLZO)-based electrolytes are considered a key material for next-generation batteries because they exhibit excellent properties, including high ionic conductivity, chemical stability, and a wide bandgap. However, to ensure the long-term stability of batteries, it is necessary to understand their role at metal interfaces (Au, Ag) within the battery. Conventional XPS analyses have the strength of accurately measuring chemical property changes. However, they have limitations in analyzing under real conditions, as lithium compounds can be degraded due to their high reactivity in air during batteries’ charge-discharge. To solve this problem, the research team developed a real-time XPS analysis technique that can compare the reactions of Au and Ag metal interfaces with the previous analyses to elucidate the lithium-metal interaction mechanisms.

Methods
The research team performed real-time charge-discharge analysis using Ag and Au battery cells deposited onto the interface layers between LLZO solid electrolytes and current collectors. Then, Li-ion behavior was analyzed for high spatial resolution using operando XPS and scanning photoelectron microscopy (SPEM). This analysis was used to examine the spatial distribution of Li ions at a high resolution. These methods provided deeper insights into Li-ion migration mechanisms.

Results and Discussion
This study optimized a reliable real-time (operando) XPS analysis technique to determine the factors determining the ASSB performance. While conventional analysis methods are limited in making real-time observations of material changes at metal interfaces during the charge-discharge process, the newly developed real-time XPS technique enables analyzing the precise chemical and electronic structures of metal interface layers at each stage. The research team thoroughly examined the impact of metal interface layers, such as Ag, Au, and Cu, on the ASSB interfacial properties through this approach. As a result, it was confirmed that an increase or decrease in Li⁰ content serves as a critical metric for assessing the efficiency and reversibility of Li plating/stripping processes. Additionally, this research discovered that oxygen bonding within the metal interface layers reacts with Li⁺ ions to form Li₂O, which influences the chemical stability of interfaces. Furthermore, while comparative analysis of core-level electrons showed no significant changes, the formation of Li-metal alloys could be judged by changes in valence-band structure. Based on these analyses, this research identified the key factors that make Ag interface layers superior to other metal interface layers in terms of interface stability and ASSB performance.

Read more on PAL website

Synchrotron light opens new avenues for aquaculture disease prevention

Synchrotron light opens new avenues for aquaculture disease prevention

A collaborative study by the Institute for Research, Development, and Innovation in Health Biotechnology of Elche (IDiBE) and the ALBA Synchrotron has used cryo-soft X-ray tomography to investigate the viral response of rainbow trout red blood cells (RBCs) to the virus commonly known as ‘fish Ebola’.

The research, published in Frontiers in Immunology, reveals significant cellular structural changes that could inform novel fish vaccine development, a critical need in aquaculture.

Fish nucleated red blood cells, also known as erythrocytes, play a crucial role in maintaining immune system balance in response to various stimuli, including viral attacks. Previous studies have shown that erythrocytes undergo intracellular changes – such as endoplasmic reticulum (ER) stress, autophagy, and antigen presentation – to prevent viral replication in response to viruses and DNA vaccines. A deeper understanding of this response could aid the development of new preventive treatments, particularly much-needed vaccines for the aquaculture industry.

To investigate these mechanisms, researchers from Institute for Research, Development and Innovation in Health Biotechnology of Elche (IDiBE) of the Miguel Hernández University (UMH) and the MISTRAL beamline at ALBA Synchrotron studied the response of rainbow trout erythrocytes when exposed to viral hemorrhagic septicemia virus (VHSV). This highly contagious virus severely affects various fish species, with mortality rates of up to 100%. For this reason, it has been commonly referred to as “fish Ebola.“

To examine in detail the erythrocytes’ response, researchers employed advanced imaging techniques at the ALBA Synchrotron. Cryo-soft X-ray tomography (cryo-SXT) – available in five places all over the world, being one of them the MISTRAL beamline – is a novel approach that enables the visualization of 3D nanoscale structures in intact cryopreserved cells.

The research team purified rainbow trout erythrocytes and exposed them to VHSV. At the ALBA Synchrotron, they visualized the structural differences in infected cells, revealing that rainbow trout erythrocytes experience an increase of the endoplasmic reticulum volume and activate the endoplasmic reticulum stress process. Using molecular biology techniques, the team verified that this process activates the misfolded protein response (UPR). The UPR is an internal defence mechanism that cells trigger when faced with stress. Furthermore, by inhibiting reticulum stress, they discovered that the virus increased its replication, demonstrating that this process contributes to slowing the infection.

The results suggest that rainbow trout erythrocytes modulate endoplasmic reticulum stress as an antiviral control mechanism and open a new line of research to identify antiviral strategies targeting erythrocytes.

Read more on ALBA website

Image: General picture of rainbow trouts. Image obtained by soft X-ray cryotomography at the MISTRAL beamline at the ALBA Synchrotron. 3D image of erythrocytes exposed to VHSV, showing the cell nucleus in pink, the endoplasmic reticulum in yellow, the cytoplasm in green, and double-membrane vesicles in purple.

ANSTO scientists help refine estimates of global methane emissions

ANSTO scientists help refine estimates of global methane emissions

A groundbreaking international study published in the Journal of Geophysical Research: Atmospheres has provided new insights into global fossil methane emissions, using innovative multi-isotopic atmospheric measurements.  

Principal Accelerator Scientist Dr Andrew Smith, a co-author who has investigated methane emissions for over two decades with A/Prof Vasilii Petrenko and others, contributed significantly to this collaborative research, which has improved the accuracy of greenhouse gas emission estimates and support more effective global climate mitigation efforts. 
 

The study, led by Dr Ryo Fujita of the Imperial College London and the Japanese Meteorological Research Institute in Tsukuba, used advanced isotopic analysis, including radiocarbon and stable isotopes of carbon and hydrogen, to accurately distinguish between different methane emission sources. This research is the first research to integrate multiple isotopic datasets to precisely quantify global methane emissions from fossil fuels, biogenic, geologic, and biomass burning sources across the historical timeframe from 1750 to 2015. 

One key finding of the study was that global fossil methane emissions are about 130 teragrams per year for the period 2003–2012, which closely matches the Global Carbon Project estimates, a network of scientists and institutions investigating greenhouse gases. To put this into perspective, a teragram is one trillion grams, approximately equivalent to the mass of water in 400 Olympic-sized swimming pools.  
 

Importantly, the study contradicts earlier claims of significantly underestimated fossil methane emissions, bringing clarity to previously conflicting scientific assessments. 

Dr. Smith highlighted the importance of multi-isotopic measurements for resolving uncertainties in methane emission inventories. “This study demonstrates that combining multiple isotopic constraints significantly reduces uncertainties in methane emission estimates. Such precise data are crucial for effective climate policy and mitigation strategies,” he said. 

ANSTO’s Centre for Accelerator Science, a world leader in extracting and accurately measuring radiocarbon from minuscule carbon samples.  This intricate process requires the identification and counting of individual atoms through accelerator mass spectrometry.  

Read more on ANSTO website