Stanford Synchrotron Radiation Lightsource (SSRL)
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Untangling a strange phenomenon that both helps and hurts lithium-ion battery performance
New research offers the first complete picture of why a promising approach of stuffing more lithium into battery cathodes leads to their failure. A better understanding of this phenomenon could be the key to smaller phone batteries and electric cars that drive farther between charges.
Study shows single atoms can make more efficient catalysts
Detailed observations of iridium atoms at work could help make catalysts that drive chemical reactions smaller, cheaper and more efficient
X-rays show how periods of stress changed an ice age hyena to the bone
Researchers mapped trace elements within Pleistocene fossils to learn about the life of a long-extinct subspecies of spotted hyena.
Researchers create most complete high-res atomic movie of photosynthesis to date
In a major step forward, SLAC’s X-ray laser captures all four stable states of the process that produces the oxygen we breathe, as well as fleeting steps in between. The work opens doors to understanding the past and creating a greener future.
Dancing atoms in perovskite materials provide insight into how solar cells work
A new study is a step forward in understanding why perovskite materials work so well in energy devices and potentially leads the way toward a theorized “hot” technology that would significantly improve the efficiency of today’s solar cells.
In materials hit with light, individual atoms and vibrations take disorderly paths
Revealed for the first time by a new X-ray laser technique, their surprisingly unruly response has profound implications for designing and controlling materials.
Scientists make first detailed measurements of key factors related to high-temperature superconductivity
Two studies led by SLAC and Stanford capture electron “sound waves” and identify a positive feedback loop that may boost superconducting temperatures .
Slideshow: 2018 SSRL/LCLS Users’ Meeting
The annual conference for scientists who conduct research at SLAC’s light sources engaged about 400 researchers in talks, workshops and discussions.
X-rays uncover a hidden property that leads to failure in a lithium-ion battery material
Experiments at SLAC and Berkeley Lab uproot long-held assumptions and will inform future battery design.
Graham George receives Lytle Award for contributions to X-ray absorption spectroscopy
In more than 185 experimental runs at SLAC’s synchrotron, he has pushed the envelope of both techniques and science.
