Researchers from the ICMAB-CSIC and ALBA have identified for the first time brown aerinite. This work constitutes an example of the utility of the through-the-substrate microdiffraction (tts-μXRD) technique when complex rocks need to be characterized.
Crocodile bones and teeth, from the existing Nile specie and also from fossils dated 70 million years ago, have been analysed at the ALBA Synchrotron. These life records offer information about crocodiles’ biology and evolution, from the Cretaceous to the present. The study is carried out thanks to the collaboration among the Autonomous University of Madrid (UAM), the University of Alcalá (UAH), the CSIC Institute of Ceramics and Glass (ICV-CSIC) and the University of Vic - Universitat Central de Catalunya (UVic-UCC). This innovative interdisciplinary scientific team gives a new approach to research, including the perspective of materials science to biology and palaeontology.
Recently, researchers from two different departments of the UAB and the Materials Science Institute of Barcelona (CSIC), in collaboration with researchers from other institutions, have published two articles in the field of archeology that refute the common perception of thin-sections as an old-fashioned laboratory preparation and they have shown how this sample format conceived in the 19th century is still in force and can be adapted to the research and the new tools of the 21st century, such as the synchrotron facilities.
A research group has identified this material as a promising candidate for replacing toxic and flammable materials currently used in refrigerators, air conditioning or cooling systems. Part of the experiments were performed at the MSPD beamline, devoted to high-pressure X-ray powder diffraction.
An international group of researchers has unveiled the transformation processes that take place during synthesis of lithium-rich layered oxides that are used as cathode materials in lithium-ion batteries. These low-cost materials showed very high capacity and speed, becoming promising candidates for the development of the electric vehicles and energy storage systems. Using synchrotron light, researchers were able to determine structural and chemical changes during the synthesis of these materials.
