The Rice University lab of chemist James Tour introduced a technique to tune the surface of anodes for batteries by simply brushing powders into them. The powder adheres to the anode and becomes a thin, lithiated coating that effectively prevents the formation of damaging dendrites.
Lire la suiteScientists make extensive use of X-ray fluorescence to map elements in materials. However, this technique does not have the needed spatial sensitivity unless the probe is finely focused.
Scientists have now found a way to turn X-ray fluorescence into an ultra-high position-sensitive probe to measure tiny internal structures called nanostructures in thin films (Nature Communications, « Reconstruction of Evolving Nanostructures in Ultrathin Films with X-ray Waveguide Fluorescence Holography »).