Helmholtz Virtual Institute MiCo: Article selected as journal highlight for 2017
First author is the mathematician Sibylle Bergmann, whose PhD work is funded by MiCo. © WIAS
The Helmholtz Virtual Institute MiCo offers a platform through which the Helmholtz-Zentrum Berlin conducts joint research with universities and other partners on the topic of microstructures for thin-film solar cells. The journal Modelling and Simulation in Materials Science and Engineering recently selected an article produced through MiCo as the highlight of those published by the journal during 2017.
The paper deals with the modelling of liquid/solid interface kinetics in silicon, the most common material used for solar cells. First author is mathematician Sibylle Bergmann, a researcher at the Weierstrass Institute who is funded by the Helmholtz Virtual Institute MiCo (Microstructure Control for thin-film solar cells).
The scientific article was evaluated by the reviewers as outstanding and was retrieved over 900 times, a particularly high number for a technical article from this subject area. The publication is available through Open Access.
Published in Modelling and Simulation in Materials Science and Engineering: „Anisotropic Solid–Liquid Interface Kinetics in Silicon: An Atomistically Informed Phase-Field Model“; S. Bergmann, K. Albe, E. Flegel, D. A. Barragan-Yani & B. Wagner
DOI: 10.1088/1361-651X/aa7862
More information on Helmholtz Virtuelle Institut "Microstructure Control for thin-film solar cells"
- Porous Radical Organic framework improves lithium-sulphur batteriesA team led by Prof. Yan Lu, HZB, and Prof. Arne Thomas, Technical University of Berlin, has developed a material that enhances the capacity and stability of lithium-sulphur batteries. The material is based on polymers that form a framework with open pores (known as radical-cationic covalent organic frameworks or COFs). Catalytically accelerated reactions take place in these pores, firmly trapping polysulphides, which would shorten the battery life. Some of the experimental analyses were conducted at the BAMline at BESSY II.
- Metallic nanocatalysts: what really happens during catalysisUsing a combination of spectromicroscopy at BESSY II and microscopic analyses at DESY's NanoLab, a team has gained new insights into the chemical behaviour of nanocatalysts during catalysis. The nanoparticles consisted of a platinum core with a rhodium shell. This configuration allows a better understanding of structural changes in, for example, rhodium-platinum catalysts for emission control. The results show that under typical catalytic conditions, some of the rhodium in the shell can diffuse into the interior of the nanoparticles. However, most of it remains on the surface and oxidises. This process is strongly dependent on the surface orientation of the nanoparticle facets.
- KlarText Prize for Hanna TrzesniowskiThe chemist has been awarded the prestigious KlarText Prize for Science Communication by the Klaus Tschira Foundation.