Direct Observation of Worm‐Like Nanochannels and Emergent Magnon Motifs in Artificial Ferromagnetic Quasicrystals

Quasicrystalline structures and aperiodic metamaterials find applications ranging from established consumer gadgets to potential high‐tech photonic components owing to both complex arrangements of constituents and exotic rotational symmetries. Magnonics is an evolving branch of magnetism research where information is transported via magnetization oscillations (magnons). Their control and manipulation are so far best accomplished in periodic metamaterials which exhibit properties artificially modulated on the nanoscale. They give rise to functional components, such as band stop filters, magnonic transistors and nanograting couplers. Here, spin‐wave excitations in artificial ferromagnetic quasicrystals created via aperiodic arrangement of nanoholes are studied experimentally. Their ten‐fold rotational symmetry results in multiplexed magnonic nanochannels, suggesting a width down to 50 nm inside a so‐called Conway worm. Key elements of design are emergent magnon motifs and the worm‐like features which are scale‐invariant and not present in the periodic metamaterials. By imaging wavefronts in quasicrystals, insight is gained into how the discovered features materialize as a dense wavelength division multiplexer.     

Dispersion kinetics of carbon black for the application in lithium-ion batteries

For production of electrodes for lithium-ion batteries, conductive carbon black (CB) has to be dispersed within the anode and cathode slurry. A sufficient dispersing degree has to be reached in order to ensure the formation of an adequate conductive network within the electrodes. As intermediate product, CB is dispersed in binder solution, prior to addition of active materials. As binder system on anode side carboxymethylcellulose in water is used, whereas on cathode side polyvinylidene fluoride in N-Methyl-2-pyrrolidone is applied. The conductive carbon slurry facilitates the characterization of the slurry properties, based on changes of CB. The structure and amount of conductive carbon black influences the slurry properties decisively. Viscosity increases with increasing CB content, which affects the shear stress within the mixing process. Rheological properties and particle size distributions are investigated over time while dispersing CB with various tip speeds in a dissolver. Dispersion kinetics are described on behalf of an existing model for tip speed variations. Based on the investigations of rheological changes due to varying amount of CB, an extended model enclosing the CB concentration as variable was developed. Using the extended model, particle sizes for new process parameters can be predicted.     

Identification of a Suitable Peptidic Molecular Platform for the Development of NPY(Y1)R-Specific Imaging Agents

NPY(Y₁)R (neuropeptide Y receptor subtype 1) is an important target structure for tumor-specific imaging and therapy as this receptor subtype is overexpressed in very high density and incidence especially in human breast cancer. Targeting this receptor with radiolabeled truncated analogues of the endogenous ligand NPY (neuropeptide Y) has, however, not yet resulted in satisfactory imaging results when using positron emission tomography (PET). This can be attributed to the limited stability of these PET imaging agents caused by their fast proteolytic degradation. Although highly promising NPY analogues were developed, their stability has only been investigated in very few cases. In this systematical work, we comparatively determined the stability of the five most promising truncated analogues of NPY that were developed over the last years, showing the highest receptor affinities and subtype selectivities. The stability of the peptides was assessed in human serum as well as in a human liver microsomal stability assay; these gave complementary results, thus demonstrating the necessity to perform both assays and not just conventional serum stability testing. Of the tested peptides, only [Lys(lauroyl)²⁷,Pro³⁰,Lys(DOTA)³¹,Bip³²,Leu³⁴]NPY_27-36 showed high stability against peptidase degradation; thus this is the best-suited truncated NPY analogue for the development of NPY(Y₁)R-specific imaging agents.     

Separation of butanol from acetone-butanol-ethanol fermentation by a hybrid extraction-distillation process

The alternative fuel butanol can be produced via acetone-butanol-ethanol (ABE) fermentation from biomass. The high costs for the separation of ABE from the dilute fermentation broth have so far prohibited the industrial-scale production of bio-butanol. In order to facilitate an effective and energy-efficient product removal, we suggest a hybrid extraction-distillation downstream process with ABE extraction in an external column. By means of computer-aided molecular design (CAMD), mesitylene is identified as novel solvent with excellent properties for ABE extraction from the fermentation broth. An optimal flowsheet is developed by systematic process synthesis which combines shortcut and rigorous models with rigorous numerical optimization. Optimization of the flowsheet structure and the operating point, consideration of heat integration, and the evaluation of the minimum energy demands are covered. It is shown that the total annualized costs of the novel process are considerably lower compared to the costs of alternative hybrid or pure distillation processes.     

Calcite Nanotuned Chitinous Skeletons of Giant Ianthella basta Marine Demosponge

Marine sponges were among the first multicellular organisms on our planet and have survived to this day thanks to their unique mechanisms of chemical defense and the specific design of their skeletons, which have been optimized over millions of years of evolution to effectively inhabit the aquatic environment. In this work, we carried out studies to elucidate the nature and nanostructural organization of three-dimensional skeletal microfibers of the giant marine demosponge Ianthella basta, the body of which is a micro-reticular, durable structure that determines the ideal filtration function of this organism. For the first time, using the battery of analytical tools including three-dimensional micro—X-ray Fluorescence (3D-µXRF), X-ray diffraction (XRD), infra-red (FTIR), Raman and Near Edge X-ray Fine Structure (NEXAFS) spectroscopy, we have shown that biomineral calcite is responsible for nano-tuning the skeletal fibers of this sponge species. This is the first report on the presence of a calcitic mineral phase in representatives of verongiid sponges which belong to the class Demospongiae. Our experimental data suggest a possible role for structural amino polysaccharide chitin as a template for calcification. Our study suggests further experiments to elucidate both the origin of calcium carbonate inside the skeleton of this sponge and the mechanisms of biomineralization in the surface layers of chitin microfibers saturated with bromotyrosines, which have effective antimicrobial properties and are responsible for the chemical defense of this organism. The discovery of the calcified phase in the chitinous template of I. basta skeleton is expected to broaden the knowledge in biomineralization science where the calcium carbonate is regarded as a valuable material for applications in biomedicine, environmental science, and even in civil engineering.     

Synchrotron‐Based Micro‐CT and Refraction‐Enhanced Micro‐CT for Non‐Destructive Materials Characterisation

X‐ray computed tomography is an important tool for non‐destructively evaluating the 3‐D microstructure of modern materials. To resolve material structures in the micrometer range and below, high brilliance synchrotron radiation has to be used. The Federal Institute for Materials Research and Testing (BAM) has built up an imaging setup for micro‐tomography and ‐radiography (BAMline) at the Berliner storage ring for synchrotron radiation (BESSY). In computed tomography, the contrast at interfaces within heterogeneous materials can be strongly amplified by effects related to X‐ray refraction. Such effects are especially useful for materials of low absorption or mixed phases showing similar X‐ray absorption properties that produce low contrast. The technique is based on ultra‐small‐angle scattering by microstructural elements causing phase‐related effects, such as refraction and total reflection. The extraordinary contrast of inner surfaces is far beyond absorption effects. Crack orientation and fibre/matrix debonding in plastics, polymers, ceramics and metal‐matrix‐composites after cyclic loading and hydro‐thermal aging can be visualized. In most cases, the investigated inner surface and interface structures correlate to mechanical properties. The technique is an alternative to other attempts on raising the spatial resolution of CT machines.