Imagine this future. Vehicles and machinery primarily powered by renewable organic matter, a resource far better for the planet’s health than today’s predominate fossil fuels. What factors stand in the way for a global power transition to competitive, industrial-scale biomass conversion? A study in Nature Communications reveals one key piece of the puzzle using bacterial enzymes. At MAX IV’s BioMAX beamline, an international team of scientists has determined important rate-limiting steps of lignocellulose breakdown, a major hurdle in efficient biomass processing. The discovery holds promise for a significant reduction in manufacturing costs and faster adoption of new biomass-derived fuels to market.
Fragment-based research on potent, non-covalent inflammatory drugs goes forward
Researchers’ collaborative efforts from Denmark and Germany used BioMAX beamline to discover selective, non-covalent inhibitors of Keap1– a common target against oxidative stress and inflammation. The result is a potent antithesis of the currently available drugs acting as covalent inhibitors.
Reaction undercover: boosting the potency of catalysts
To sever society’s tether from fossil fuels, the development of more efficient catalysts for renewable energy production is a recognized, key step. On surfaces covered by 2D materials, a more detailed picture of the reaction process will greatly enhance our understanding, according to a recent study in ACS Catalysis. Researchers in Sweden have observed the effects of hydrogen and other gas combinations on 2D material graphene during undercover reactions using ambient-pressure XPS at MAX IV’s HIPPIE beamline.
A toothy temporal map of Arctic climate change
In the vast, remoteness of the Arctic, few have the opportunity to gather data on the environmental conditions over time or decipher the long-term effects of climate change. What is required? A considerable period to observe, a nearly autonomous method or actor for collection, a robust character to withstand the harsh surroundings. Researchers from Aarhus University in Denmark are tackling this issue through an interdisciplinary NordForsk project. At DanMAX beamline, the group will analyse a narwhal tusk to determine its chemical composition and biomineralization, both important potential markers of the changing environment.
Amorphous atomic structure of tungsten oxide detected at DanMAX
The relationship between atomic structure and size is crucial knowledge in the effort to improve nanomaterials properties. Amorphous atomic structure was revealed in research done at DanMAX beamline of otherwise crystalline tungsten oxide nanoparticles due to the change of the nanoparticles size. This understanding is crucial for developing materials for, among others, catalysis, batteries, solar cells, memory storage, medicine, etc.
Unveiling the properties of a versatile 2D material for energy storage and production applications
Researchers from Linköping University and MAX IV have determined the detailed surface atomic arrangement of inherently formed termination species in an important class of two-dimensional materials known as MXene. The results have implications for the use of the material in energy storage and production applications.
Mapping the genetic tools of fungi for fuel production
Fungal enzymes play an important role in the breakdown of plant cell walls during plant degradation. An international collaboration of researchers explored the auxiliary activities 7 (AA7) enzyme family, characterizing four fungal enzymes and uncovering a novel class of flavo-enzymes, exemplified by oligosaccharide dehydrogenase. The enzymes fuel the activity of lytic polysaccharide monooxygenases (LPMOs) in the challenging process of crystalline cellulose degradation. The study, published in Nature Communications, offers promise for tuning the efficiency of enzymatic breakdown processes of biomass feedstocks used in energy and biomaterial production.
A fuel conversion process akin to photosynthesis
Researchers at Linköping University in Sweden are developing a promising new method to selectively convert carbon dioxide and water to various types of fuel. Driving this reaction is solar energy. The recent study, published in ACS Nano, combines the material graphene and the semiconductor cubic silicon carbide in a process which essentially mimics photosynthesis in plants.
Oxygen cycling reveals path to next-gen ferroelectric devices
Research is heating up to achieve greater fundamental understanding of the mechanism of ferroelectricity in hafnia-based materials, a crucial step in the development of next generation devices. New findings from the University of Groningen (RUG) in the journal Science define the key role of oxygen for greater miniaturization potential and structural stability beyond that of standard ferroelectric materials used in low-power memories. Electron microscopy and MAX IV’s NanoMAX beamline have illuminated the nature of polarization in thin films of hafnium zirconium oxide for ferroelectronics.
Modelling electrochemical potential for better Li-batteries
To understand the electrochemical potential of lithium-ion batteries, it’s important to decipher the chemical processes at electrode interfaces occurring during device activity. Using HIPPIE beamline, a research group investigated and modelled the influence of electrochemical potential differences in operando in these batteries.