Författare: materials group

Kategorier
SIC synchrotrons

Miguel presents his thesis project in a startup seminar

Miguel Kofoed, who started his PhD in Applied Physics in November, presented his plans for his thesis work in a seminar today. Miguel is part of the PRISMAS Graduate School, a national network coordinated by the MAX IV Laboratory and funded by the EU through an MSCA Cofund project. His project is a collaboration between MaU and MAX IV, where he will work on the integration of diffraction and scattering methods at the Balder beamline, with special focus on the diffraction anomalous fine structure (DAFS) technique. DAFS can give atomic-scale information about materials like catalysts and batteries during operation, and so should help us to improve these technologies. Welcome Miguel and best of luck!

Kategorier
imaging synchrotrons

Experiments with metal foams at ESRF

Between 14th – 18th September, Indrajeet, Pär and Johan together with researchers from Lund and Ulm Universities went to Grenoble to conduct measurements at the European Synchrotron Radiation Facility (ESRF). The purpose of the visit was to investigate the microstructural evolution of metallic foams during heat treatment using an in-situ x-ray setup. This is part of Indrajeet’s PhD project, which is part of a joint Swedish-German project funded by the Swedish Research Council. The in-situ experiments were challenging, but the results look promising. Thus, we are confident that you will hear about the results at a conference in the near future.

Indrajeet holding the metal foam sample before loading it into the X-ray imaging instrument.
Close-up view of the sample, which is a small piece cut out from a block of metal foam.
View of the metal foam sample though the camera used for positioning in the X-ray instrument.
Kategorier
energy

Euro Nano Forum 2023

Euro Nano Forum 2023 is a platform where academics meet industry and other technological actors. It’s held in Lund, June 11 to 13. Check up Gzegorz, Sana, and Denis in action!

Kategorier
energy

Eurpean Materials Research Society

29. May – 2. June

The European Materials Research Society (E-MRS) has more than 4 000 members from industry, government, academia, and research laboratories, who meet regularly to debate recent technological developments of functional materials. Denis presented a talk tiled “Overlooked design parameters for efficient thermoelectric devices” at E-MRS 2023 Spring Meeting in Strasbourg.

Kategorier
imaging

Neutron scattering experiments at JPARC

Johan was in Japan at the Takumi beamline of the Japan Proton Accelerator Research Complex (JPARC), performing residual stress measurements using time-of-flight neutron diffraction. The experiment is a part of an ongoing project together with Lund University, ESS, and Sandvik focused on investigating if/how neutrons can help with the characterization of cemented carbides for use in the mining industry. Bulk studies of these materials are not possible with x-rays because they contain a lot of Tungsten which is very x-ray absorbing. The high penetration power of neutrons is therefore needed to access the interior of the samples. Shirin Nouhi from Sandvik also joined the experiment.

Figure 1: The samples mounted on the diffractometer. The neutrons come from the small opening in the middle of the image, and diffracted neutrons are measured by the detectors to the left and right.
Figure 2: Neutron measurements are generally slow, which gave us plenty of time to sample some Japanese food.
Figure 3: Rietveld refinement on one of the diffractograms, showing peaks from tungsten-carbide and FCC-cobalt.
Kategorier
imaging

CeXS workshop on X-ray imaging and diffraction

Last week Johan gave an invited talk at the workshop “Combining X-ray imaging and diffraction for materials and biomedical characterisations” which was organized at KTH by the Center for X-rays in Swedish Materials Science (CeXS). The talk entitled “Grain-resolved diffraction: Investigating individual grains in polycrystalline samples” gave an overview of how imaging methods based on x-ray diffraction can be used to study the microstructure of a material and how it evolved during e.g. mechanical loading.

Kategorier
energy hydrogen sustainability

Steps toward a sustainable future

Christina Bjerkén and Denis Music participated in the Climate Network for Researchers at Malmö University. It is our vision to consolidate efforts on sustainability issues across the boundaries of Malmö University and better integrate Materials Science into such endeavors. Items were discussed to enable supportive and productive ways to form a collaborative and interdisciplinary network. These include teaching, seminars, possible common projects, and the like.

Kategorier
SIC synchrotrons

Electrocatalysis experiments at PETRA III

Dorotea, Harald and Lindsay were at the PETRA III synchrotron in Hamburg last week, making high-energy surface X-ray diffraction measurements on model electrocatalysts – simplified materials that should help us understand how to improve the performance of electrolyzers and fuel cells. The experiments were part of a collaboration with Prof. Gary Harlow from the Oregon Center for Electrochemistry at the University of Oregon (go Huskies!). The X-ray measurements were made at the Swedish Materials Science beamline P21. Also joining the experiment was Andrea Grespi, PhD student from Lund University.

View across the “Max von Laue” ring hall at the PETRA III synchrotron, Hamburg, Germany.
Samples were initially prepared at the DESY Nanolab (thanks Heshmat and colleagues!) before transferring to the synchrotron for measurements. Dorotea was in charge of this part of the experiment. Here she is moving the freshly-prepared sample (which you can’t see) through the ultra-high vacuum system.
The samples are very delicate, so we try to avoid exposure to too much air. Here’s the improvised solution for this experiment: a bag sealed around the entry door to the vacuum system. The bag is filled with dry nitrogen and the sample transferred into an airtight jar, which we can then take to a proper glove box to load into the electrochemistry cell.
After getting the sample loaded into the electrochemistry cell (the beige thing on the pedestal here with tubes coming out), this is mounted at the X-ray beamline for measurements. Here you see the setup almost ready; Gary is adjusting the camera we use to monitor the surface of the sample during measurements.
Gary and Harald watching as the X-ray diffraction data come in.
X-ray diffraction pattern from the sample, which is a material only a few atomic layers thick. The pattern of spots tells us about the atomic structure, and we can follow changes in real time while we change the conditions.
Kategorier
energy

10 year anniversary of Medicon Village

Denis Music participated on the 10 year anniversary of Medicon Village in Lund, together with representatives of Malmö University and Lund University as well as regional and national policy makers. Medicon Village is a meeting place for research, innovation, and development within life sciences. The goal is to make Skåne an important international player within life sciences.

Kategorier
imaging synchrotrons

Surface diffraction imaging experiments at DanMAX

Johan and Indrajeet were at the MAX IV beamline DanMAX last week for an experiment using surface X-ray diffraction to map grains on polycrystalline surfaces. The new technique they are helping to develop is called “surface X-ray diffraction tomography”, and will enable surface structural characterization on complex samples under in situ conditions. The project is led by Johan Gustafson at Lund University.