Towards new reaction pathways

Insights on molecular dynamics in the ultrashort time window following UV excitation

30-Oct-2024 - The Attosecond Science group at the Center for Free-Electron Laser Science at DESY has developed a novel light source capable of producing extremely short pulses for the investigation of UV-induced molecular dynamics with unprecedented temporal resolution. Scientists from DESY and the University ...

Observed live for the first time: photocatalysts switch off a virus

Whitening agent titanium dioxide kills viruses – now researchers see it at work at the nanoscale

02-Aug-2024 - An international research team led by DESY scientists has been able to observe for the first time how the whitening agent titanium dioxide inactivates viruses. Using various advanced methods, including measurements at the synchrotron light source PETRAIII, they were able to precisely reproduce ...

Significant Breakthrough in Understanding of the Two-State Reactivity Mechanism

Scientists discovered first experimental methodology for measuring low-energy, spin-forbidden transitions in molecular catalysts

02-Jul-2024 - Iron-based catalysts are essential in various fields, including medicine, energy, and environmental science. They facilitate reactions that are vital for producing pharmaceuticals, clean fuels, and breaking down pollutants. These catalysts operate by enabling the directed transformation of ...

Researchers can now accurately measure the emergence and damping of a plasmonic field

This is crucial for renewable energy and other technologies

13-May-2024 - An international research team led by Universität Hamburg, DESY, and Stanford University has developed a new approach to characterize the electric field of arbitrary plasmonic samples, like e.g. gold nanoparticles. Plasmonic materials are of particular interest due to their extraordinary ...

Breakthrough at the Fritz Haber Institute: First Operation of a Two-Color Mode in an Infrared Free-Electron Laser

New opportunities for experimental studies in diverse fields ranging from physical chemistry, materials science, catalysis research to biomolecular studies

23-Feb-2024 - A technological milestone has been achieved at the Fritz Haber Institute (FHI) of the Max Planck Society in Berlin. For the first time, an infrared Free-Electron Laser (FEL) has been operated in a two-color mode. This globally unique technology enables experiments with synchronized two-color ...

New door opened to understanding the catalysis of ammonia production

Research team investigates the reaction mechanism for catalytic ammonia production at PETRA III

26-Jan-2024 - A research team from Stockholm University, in collaboration with DESY and the Montanuniversität Leoben in Austria, has succeeded for the first time in investigating the surface of iron and ruthenium catalysts in the formation of ammonia from nitrogen and hydrogen; the results have been published ...

Bane and boon of oxygen mediating the performance of nickel catalysts in dry reforming of methane

Fundamental insights into the processes occurring at the catalyst surface

22-Jan-2024 - Catalysis is one of the key technologies in the chemical industry and has a wide-reaching impact on various aspects of our daily lives, including plastics manufacturing, drug synthesis, and production of both fertilizers and fuels. It is estimated that over 90% of chemical products are nowadays ...

The enzyme with the iron heart

Results could lead to new biocatalysts for sustainable biotechnology

11-Dec-2023 - Nitrogenases are the only enzymes capable of reducing atmospheric nitrogen to bioavailable nitrogen (ammonia), a process essential for all life on Earth. Using cryogenic electron microscopy, researchers at the Max Planck Institute for Terrestrial Microbiology in Marburg, Germany, have now solved ...

Watching a Bimetallic Catalytic Surface in Action

Such insight on working catalysts is only possible to obtain using state-of-the-art experimental techniques under reaction conditions

01-Sep-2023 - A team of researchers from the Department of Interface Science at the Fritz Haber Institute of the Max Planck Society addressed the question: what happens to a Ga-promoted Cu surface under reaction conditions required for the synthesis of methanol? They found complex structural transformations of ...

Researchers “film” novel catalyst at work

15-Aug-2023 - A novel catalysis scheme enables chemical reactions that were previously virtually impossible. The method developed at the University of Bonn is also environmentally friendly and does not require rare and precious metals. The researchers recorded the exact course of the catalysis in a kind of ...