July 2, 2020: A new National Research Facility (NRF) in Lab-based X-ray Computed Tomography is set to launch in November this year. The NRF will provide access and support for both academia and industry, embracing both first-time users and more experienced researchers running cutting-edge 3D imaging experiments.
July 25, 2020: Using single crystal X-ray diffraction performed at Princeton University and X-ray pair distribution function measurements performed at the Brookhaven National Laboratory, Princeton Department of Chemistry researchers have demystified the reasons for instability in an inorganic perovskite that has attracted wide attention for its potential in creating highly efficient solar cells.
July 27, 2020: X-ray experiments at Berkeley Lab’s Advanced Light Source helped scientists to establish that the parent planetesimal of rare meteorites had a molten core, a solid crust, and a magnetic field similar in strength to the Earth’s magnetic field.
July 27, 2020: A team of NUST MISIS scientists, together with colleagues from Russia and Germany, has presented a detailed study of magnetite-gold nanohybrids. In the future, such nanoparticles can help in theranostics—the diagnostics and subsequent therapy of oncological diseases. X-ray phase analysis, transmission electron microscopy and vibromagnetometry were used to examine the nucleation, growth and faceting of magnetite-gold nanohybrids.
July 29, 2020: Over the last eight years, conservationists have been meticulously restoring the famed altarpiece “The Adoration of the Mystic Lamb,” attributed to Hubert and Jan Van Eyck, housed in St. Bavo's Cathedral in Ghent, Belgium. With the help of several advanced imaging techniques, they have been able to document the changes made over time and identify where overpainting from earlier restorations obscured the original work.
July 31, 2020: Despite recent advances in entropy-stabilized metals and insulating ceramics targeted for structural applications, there is still a shortage of high-entropy semiconductors, which is an obstacle to the adoption of high-entropy materials in semiconducting functional applications. University of Michigan researchers have utilized entropy to stabilize a new class of semiconducting materials.
August 12, 2020: Using X-ray fluorescence, a group of researchers from Charité – Universitätsmedizin, Berlin observed in detail how different metals are released from joint implants and accumulate in the surrounding bone tissue. The study may help optimize materials used and enhance their safety.
August 12, 2020: Graphene, an extremely thin two-dimensional layer of the graphite used in pencils, buckles when cooled while attached to a flat surface, resulting in beautiful pucker patterns that could benefit the search for novel quantum materials and superconductors.
August 14, 2020: To optimize catalyst performance, a team of scientists from Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory (LLNL) and collaborators has developed a detailed understanding of the effect of pretreatment-induced nanoscale structural and compositional changes on catalyst activity and long-term stability.
August 14, 2020: Recent research published in Science Advances traces the origins of the larger sarsen sandstones, one of two types of stone that make up Stonehenge, using portable X-ray fluorescence spectrometry to analyze each of these large boulders. Scientists were able to match the chemical fingerprints of 50 out of 52 sarsens to stones from West Woods, Wiltshire, about 25 km north of Stonehenge.
August 16, 2020: The Louvre Abu Dhabi has joined a global research project to scientifically scratch beneath the surface of Romano-Egyptian funerary portraits. Painted on wooden boards and placed over the faces of mummies, they are considered to be some of the most spectacular artworks from the ancient world. An X-ray fluorescence spectrometer was used to detect and identify most of the chemical elements that lie on the painting’s surface.
August 17, 2020: Research led by an ANSTO scientist has found that the structural degradation of plastic in the ocean facilitates its entry into the natural carbon cycle efficiently as carbon dioxide. Probes with analytical techniques, especially small and wide angle X-ray and Raman scattering, identified important changes to the microstructure.
