From the Director
SSRL, ALS, APS and NSLS are coordinating experimental run schedules for the coming months to try to avoid dry periods when multiple light sources are down at the same time. As a result of this coordination activity we have made the decision to move the end of our current experimental run up to July 13 rather than August 11 as originally planned. Barring unforeseen circumstances we will resume user operations in early September.
For information about our Phase 1 operating plans in the June to mid-July time period please see our May 28, 2020 announcement.
We are also pleased to direct you to the information of SSRL’s role in COVID-19 response on YouTube – we continue to enable science at our SSRL beam lines for this purpose.
Science Highlights
Design of Novel Protein Cages – Contact: Akif Tezcan, University of California, San Diego
Some proteins can form complex cage structures that can trap, hold, catalyze, and release small molecular and atomic cargo based on environmental signals. These protein cages are made of a collection of identical monomer proteins self-assembled into a symmetric conformation. Protein cages are found in nature, including in virus capsids, and have attracted much interest for engineering them to perform specific functions. In the past, designed protein cages have formed highly porous, “wiffle-ball”-like assemblies, but a team of scientists have used knowledge of inorganic chemistry, such as metal-coordination preferences, to design a tightly-packed protein cage that more closely mimics natural protein cages. Read more...
Cathode Enables Quasi-Two-Stage Intercalation for Multivalent Zinc Batteries – Contact: Johanna Nelson Weker, SSRL
Because they are highly efficient, low maintenance, and light, lithium-ion batteries have grown in popularity. Their use has improved the functionality of many electronics, such as allowing our cell phones to be more portable and our electric cars to travel longer distances. However, some precious metal components of these batteries are in short supply, prompting researchers to develop “beyond lithium-ion” alternatives that use elements more abundant on Earth, yet have the qualities that make lithium-ion batteries so useful. Attention has turned to using common divalent metals, such as calcium, magnesium, and zinc, at the anode for a new type of battery. Read more...
Reversible Cation and Anion Redox in Lithium-rich Sulfide Battery Cathodes – Contact: Johanna Nelson Weker, SSRL
While steady improvement of lithium-ion batteries has allowed electronic technologies to perform better, researchers are nearing a theoretical limit to lithium-ion battery capacity. One way to overcome this limit is to change the chemistry of materials to allow more electrons to exchange between anode and cathode per unit of material. Currently, LiCoO2 lithium-ion batteries transfer one electron per unit of cathode, but other lithium-based materials may allow for higher capacity. A team of researchers has investigated the Li-rich layered sulfide Li2FeS2 and a novel analog LiNaFeS2 as potential higher capacity alternatives since they can store 1.5 or more electrons per unit. Read more...
