Energy transition

During the last decades, computing power has been subject to tremendous progress due to the shrinking of transistor size as predicted by Moore’s law. However, as we approach the physical limits of this scaling, alternative techniques have to be deployed to increase computing performance. In this regard, the next big advance is envisioned to be the usage of approximate computing hardware based on field-programmable gate arrays and/or digital-analogue in-memory circuits. Such approximate computing can provide disproportional gain (x1000) in energy efficiency and/or execution time for acceptable loss of simulation accuracy. This could be highly beneficial in order to accelerate computational intensive simulations such as reactor core analyses with higher resolution multi-physics models. On the other hand, the execution of programming codes on low-precision hardware may result in inadequate outcomes due to quality degradation and/or algorithm divergence. To address these questions, studies on the stability and the performance of advanced reactor simulation algorithms as function of reduced floating-point arithmetic precision are being conducted at the laboratory for reactor physics and thermal-hydraulics. Results obtained so far indicate a large room for the acceleration of nuclear engineering applications using mixed-precision hardware. Therefore, research is now being enlarged towards assessing multiprecision computing methods for reactor core simulations with higher spatial resolution.

Nanoscale thin films are widely implemented across a plethora of technological and scientific areas, and form the basis for many advancements that have driven human progress, owing to the high degree of functional tunability based on the chemical composition. Pulsed laser deposition is one of the multiple physical vapour deposition routes to fabricate thin films, employing laser energy to eject material from a target in the form of a plasma ...

Using operando time-resolved X-ray absorption spectroscopy, we investigated the origin of volcano-shaped ethanol oxidative dehydrogenation activity trend of VOx/CeO2 catalysts as a function of VOx surface coverage. Vanadium and cerium synergistically change their oxidation states during the catalytic cycle. The catalytic activity correlates with the concentration of reversible Ce4+/3+species.

The ability to study in situ the formation and consumption of Pd hydrides (PdH) in liquid environments is a significant challenge hampering a deeper understanding of catalyzed liquid-phase hydrogenation reactions. Here, using quick scanning X-ray absorption spectroscopy (QEXAFS), we present a detailed kinetic study of Pd hydride formation and reactivity on Pd/Al₂O₃ in 2-propanol solvent. 

Oxynitrides are promising materials for visible light-driven water splitting. However, limited information regarding their electron-momentum resolved electronic structure exists. Here, with the advantage of the enhanced probing depth and chemical state specificity of soft-X-ray ARPES, we determine the electronic structure of the photocatalyst oxynitride LaTiO₂N and monitor its evolution as a consequence of the oxygen evolution reaction. After the photoelectrochemical reactions, we observe a partial loss of Ti- and La-N 2p states, distortions surrounding the local environment of titanium atoms and, unexpectedly, an indication of an electron accumulation layer at or near the surface, which may be connected with either a large density of metallic surface states or downward band bending. The distortions and defects associated with the titanium 3d states lead to the trapping of electrons and charge recombination, which is a major limitation for the oxynitride LaTiO₂N. The presence of an accumulation layer and its evolution suggests complex mechanisms of the photoelectrochemical reaction, especially in cases where co-catalysts or passivation layers are used.

“Soft” x-rays are notoriously hard to detect. Particularly, in the context of high-performance synchrotron and free electron laser (FEL) experiments, suitable detector options for low-energy x-rays are highly sought after. Currently available options only provide limited area, readout speed, and dynamic range. Now, a team of scientists from the Laboratory for X-Ray Nanoscience and Technologies (LXN) at PSI are challenging these limitations. They combined a detector made at PSI with newly developed silicon sensors to push the resolution toward the soft x-ray limit. A first version of this detector system is now in operation at the SwissFEL endstation Maloja. And it points to further possibilities to refine the detector technology to eventually catch the elusive soft x-rays.