Tag: first results

Blue phosphorus – mapped and measured for the first time

Blue phosphorus – mapped and measured for the first time

For the first time an HZB team was able to examine samples of blue phosphorus at BESSY II and confirm via mapping of their electronic band structure that this is actually this exotic phosphorus modification.

Blue phosphorus is an interesting candidate for new optoelectronic devices. The results have been published in Nano Letters.
The element phosphorus can exist in  various allotropes and changes its properties with each new form. So far, red, violet, white and black phosphorus have been known. While some phosphorus compounds are essential for life, white phosphorus is poisonous and inflammable and black phosphorus – on the contrary – particularly robust. Now, another allotrope has been identified: In 2014, a team from Michigan State University, USA, performed model calculations to predict that “blue phosphorus” should be also stable. In this form, the phosphorus atoms arrange in a honeycomb structure similar to graphene, however, not completely flat but regularly “buckled”. Model calculations showed that blue phosphorus is not a narrow gap semiconductor like black phosphorus in the bulk but possesses the properties of a semiconductor with a rather large band gap of 2 electron volts. This large gap, which is seven times larger than in bulk black phosphorus, is important for optoelectronic applications.

>Read more on the BESSY II at HZB website

Image: https://pubs.acs.org/doi/10.1021/acs.nanolett.8b01305

First European XFEL research results published

First European XFEL research results published

High number of X-ray pulses per second reduces time needed for the study of biological structures.

Just days before the first anniversary of the start of European XFEL user operation, the first results based on research performed at the facility have been published. In the journal Nature Communications, the scientists, headed by Prof. Ilme Schlichting from Max-Planck-Institute for Medical Research in Heidelberg, Germany, together with colleagues from Rutgers State University of New Jersey, USA, France, DESY and European XFEL, describe their work using the intense X-ray laser beam to determine the 3D structure of several proteins. They demonstrate, for the first time that, under the conditions used at the time of the experiment an increased number of X-ray pulses per second as produced by the European XFEL can be successfully used to determine the structure of biomolecules. As much faster data collection is therefore possible, the time needed for an experiment could be significantly shortened. The detailed determination of the 3D structure of biomolecules is crucial for providing insights into informing the development of  novel drugs to treat diseases.

Prof. Ilme Schlichting said: “Our work shows that under the conditions used data can be collected at European XFEL at a rate much faster than has ever been previously possible. As the time and cost of experiments decrease, very soon many more researchers will be able to perform experiments at high repetition rate X-ray lasers. Our results are therefore of interest not only tor the fields of biology and medicine, but also physics, chemistry and other disciplines.”

>Read more on the European XFEL website

Image: Guest scientist Tokushi Sato working at the sample chamber of the SPB/SFX instrument.
Credit: European XFEL