How do catalysts, fuel cells, batteries or sensors work on an atomic mesoscopic and macroscopic scale? What kind of changes occur under reaction conditions with gas exposure, temperature, time or with start up or interruption of the reaction?
These questions are of high relevance for the knowledge-based development of catalysts and new materials and, in particular, inspire breakthrough innovations, equally in academic and industrial research.
Synchrotron radiation and neutrons play an important role for understanding catalytic reactions and controlling material properties. The GeCatS information day aims to give an overview of the latest research in these fields. It is intended to promote the exchange and provide a platform for new and strengthened collaborations at both academic and industrial levels. We will bring together new and established users from academia, large scale facilities and industry.
Synchrotron radiation and neutron sources offer completely new insight. It is not only possible to obtain atomic structural information on functional materials but also to generate an image from the molecular system to the reactor or a battery. Thanks to new beamlines at synchrotron radiation sources, higher brilliance and tremendously improved computer power, tomographic images and 3D-investigations can now be obtained over many orders of length scales. In addition, processes can be directly followed, for example, the preparation of materials as well as the life of a catalyst under reaction conditions, i.e. in gas, liquid or high pressure environment. Another very important aspect is the tracking of temporal changes: new research approaches allow the data acquisition in the ms area, "pump-probe" experiments and X-ray lasers face even much shorter temporal information down to the fs range.
Such facilities are also highly interesting for industrial research and have great future potential. Many methodological synergies between synchrotron and neutron measurement techniques are currently available and lab infrastructure already exists to some extent, or is presently put into position. With the construction of FLASH and XFEL as well as the upgrade of BESSY or PETRA III, completely new possibilities arise in Germany and with MAXIV, ESRF, ILL, ISIS upgrades and the ESS at European level. Now it is important to familiarize the fundamental sciences and applied disciplines equally with the new potential created in recent years and to tap them as best as possible. The techniques and new potentials will only be used optimally if the right infrastructure is established and scientific questions are addressed and tackled in the right way.
Gain an overview of the possibilities. Get involved in this discussion and shape the future.
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