Hydrogen molecules gerd altmann on pixabay

A path to polymerize metallic hydrogen?

An international research group reports in Nature the observation of the phase transition of a hexagonal close-packed (HCP) crystal structure of hydrogen to a 6-fold larger hydrogen supercell. The findings describe polymerization activity at extreme pressures which reveals how atoms arrange themselves in solid hydrogen and offers clues to the formation of metallic hydrogen. The study includes X-ray diffraction (XRD) data from MAX IV’s NanoMAX beamline.

Highlights

Drone image of MAX IV from above, surrounded by green landscape and the horizon.

A record year for research at MAX IV

MAX IV is making significant societal contributions in terms of record-high scientific productivity. In 2023, the number of publications increased by 51% compared to the previous year, and the number of unique users increased by 31%. Moreover, the number of proposals submitted in the most recent Open Call was higher than ever.

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Conceptual design for three potential new beamlines developed with WISE

After successfully bringing the first 16 funded beamlines into operation, we now look into the future. In collaboration with the Wallenberg Initiative Materials Science for Sustainability (WISE), funded by the Knut and Alice Wallenberg Foundation and together with the scientific community, MAX IV will develop the conceptual designs for three potential new materials science beamlines.