Journal Article

Grasping (electronic) structure changes during photochromic processes is crucial for fully understanding the photochromic effect in rare-earth oxyhydride films. In this study, we employ in situ UV illumination positron annihilation lifetime spectroscopy (PALS) to investigate the time evolution of open-volume defects and metallic domains during photodarkening and bleaching in yttrium oxyhydride films. [...]

Membrane technology offers substantial economic and environmental benefits for energy-intensive chemical separations. Chabazite-type zeolite, possessing a 3-D channel system with molecular-sieving windows, can be an ideal membrane material, but conditions to synthesize zeolite-only membranes limit optimization strategies. [...]

This paper presents a control scheme for a 50 MHz λ/4 transmission line resonator, with the aim of generating a 10 kV sinusoidal signal for the positron elevator at the Scanning Positron Microscope interface. A PID controller is employed to stabilize the amplitude accuracy to less than one percent. [...]

The drive to expand the implementation of membrane separation technology towards harsher environments prompted the development of chemically robust epoxide-based TFC membranes. This work seeks to better understand the influence of the support on epoxide-based TFC membrane performance and properties. [...]

This work investigates the impact of an internal electric field on the annihilation characteristics of positrons implanted in a 180(10)nm SiO2 layer of a Metal-Oxide-Silicon (MOS) capacitor, using Positron Annihilation Lifetime Spectroscopy (PALS). By varying the gate voltage, electric fields up to 1.72MV/cm were applied. [...]

Defect engineering and structure-property relationship understanding in methylammonium lead iodide (MAPI) hybrid perovskites (HPs) attract significant scientific interest, as synthesis-related defects may strongly influence intrinsic properties. We have explored a green solvent-free synthesis—mechanosynthesis—leading to large quantities of MAPI powder with tuneable defect density suitable to study MAPI as an electromagnetic wave absorbing (EMWA) material. [...]

The recently developed poly(epoxyether) (PEE) membranes show great potential to treat a variety of liquid and gas streams thanks to their impressive chemical, thermal and mechanical robustness, even allowing application in extreme pH and strongly oxidative conditions. A significantly shortened synthesis protocol is however still needed to enable the industrial-scale production of PEE-based thin-film composite (TFC)-membranes.This was achieved by using two partially miscible solvents, i.e. [...]

The development of next-generation lithium-based batteries is accompanied by the intention to suppress the formation of dendritic lithium on the electrode, and is dominated by the picture that dendrites start to grow at the electrodes. Shifting from liquid to solid-state electrolytes, a high transference number is a quantity that promises the restraint of such parasitic side reactions. [...]

Recent developments on neutron imaging and tomography at the Laboratory of Neutron Physics are reported. Neutron imaging brings unique opportunities in various applications, including energy research, materials science, cultural heritage studies, and industrial engineering. [...]