Energy conversion and storage devices as fuel cells or lithium-ion batteries contain an electrolyte to transport ions from the negative to the positive electrode. This electrolyte can be a salt-containing liquid as in state-of-the art Li-ion batteries, a polymer as in proton exchange membrane fuel cells and solid-state batteries, or inorganic conductors as oxides or glass ceramics. In all...
Defects and structural disorders are well recognized as crucial for the energy conversion process. However, the precise description of the types and concentrations of defects is an intriguing and complex challenge, requesting the combination of various advanced experimental in situ and post mortem methods such as laboratory- and synchrotron-based X-ray diffraction, neutron diffraction, X-ray...
Ethylene is an important raw material for the production of wide variety of polymers. However, this gas usually appears mixed with other components, as for instance ethane and purification to a single component is required. Nevertheless, the separation of these gases, which have similar properties, sizes and molecular structures is still challenging. In the case of ethylene, its separation...
The first neutron spin echo (NSE) instrument IN11 was in user operation for 40 years at ILL. The newest spin echo instrument WASP took the relay and just had its first full year of user operation. We will use this occasion to review how the design of the wide angle NSE spectrometers has developed over the years. Apart from WASP, most functioning NSE spectrometers use the basic IN11A design...
In the crystal structure of KDP (КH2PO4) the phosphate tetrahedra are linked together by a net of O-H-O hydrogen bonds. At ambient pressure and temperature protons are disordered in a two-minimum potential along the bonds. At a temperature of 123 K a ferroelectric phase transition takes place related to the locking of protons in one of these two energy minima. We used inelastic neutron...
