A team of scientists from Wrocław University of Science and Technology, in cooperation with researchers from the URANOS beamline, conducted a series of experiments on layered semiconductors SnS and SnSe using photoemission spectroscopy. Their investigation revealed characteristic features of the electronic band structure, which influence the optical properties of these materials and their potential for near-infrared polarization-sensitive photodetectors.

A collaborative research team from Jagiellonian University in Poland and the universities of Leeds, York, and Durham in the UK have made a significant nanotech breakthrough by developing dynamic, pentamer-based protein nanotubes. The study, published in ACS Nano, reveals how an engineered enzyme can assemble into various hollow spherical and cylindrical structures in response to stimuli.

Portable electronics, and therefore batteries, are part of all our lives to some extent. It is also well known that current Li-ion battery technology needs to be renewed in several respects, it is important to eliminate the use of conflict minerals such as cobalt, to reduce the use of toxic chemicals. The production of lithium-ion battery electrodes uses polyvinylidene fluoride (PVDF) as a binder (which physically holds the electrode mass together),requiring the use of the solvent Methylpyrrolidone (NMP), which is toxic to reproduction. A group of scientists working on the ASTRA beamline at the SOLARIS Centre has demonstrated that the performance of Li-S batteries can be improved by using natural polymers and water.

Members of the “Spectroscopy of Novel Quantum States” team from the Paris Institute of Nanosciences, Sorbonne University, came to the URANOS beamline (synchrotron Solaris) to study the electronic properties of a recently synthetized material: Cu₂Ge which is a so-called “nodal line” topological semi-metal. More generally, their scientific objectives are focused on understanding the electronic and magnetic properties of low-dimensional systems such as superconductors, topological and magnetic materials, or Mott insulators.

A research group from the AGH University of Krakow, specializing in material chemistry, in collaboration with the SOLARIS Center, has published findings on the impact of phase symmetry in the CaTiO₃ - SrTiO₃ perovskite system on the incorporation of cobalt into the perovskite structure. These cobalt-modified materials are promising for applications in energy conversion technologies and environmental catalysis. The findings, published in Materials Chemistry and Physics, revealed distinct behaviors between calcium-rich (Ca-rich) and strontium-rich (Sr-rich) perovskite materials. The study also examined the impact of non-stoichiometry on both, the position occupied by cobalt in the structure and its oxidation state. A comprehensive understanding of the structural changes in the system was achieved through an innovative approach combining X-ray absorption spectroscopy (XAS) analysis, conducted at the ASTRA beamline, with results from temperature-programmed reduction (TPR) studies.