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Newsletter========================================
*********************************************** 1. WIRMS 2009: POSTER ABSTRACT SUBMISSION DEADLINE EXTENDED TO JULY 13! The poster abstract submission deadline for the 5th International Workshop on Infrared Microscopy and Spectroscopy with Accelerator Based Sources (WIRMS 2009), to be held in beautiful Banff, Alberta, September 13-17, 2009, has been extended to July 13. Please visit http://www.lightsource.ca/wirms2009 now, to register and submit an abstract. 2. CFI APPROVES CLS PHASE IV PROJECT 3. SCIENCE HIGHLIGHT- IMMOBILIZATION OF RUO2 ON CARBON NANOTUBE: AN X-RAY ABSORPTION NEAR-EDGE STRUCTURE STUDY Ruthenium oxide (RuO2)-coated carbon nanotubes are useful functional nanocomposites in many applications, including supercapacitors, fuel cells, catalysts, biosensors, and field emitters. In particular, this nanocomposite has exhibited excellent performance in supercapacitors, which are the essential device in electric vehicles. The information of its electronic behavior and bonding is crucial in understanding and predicting its properties. These properties strongly depend on the interaction between RuO2 and carbon nanotubes. The electronic structures of carbon nanotube/RuO2 core/shell nanocomposite (RuO2 thin layer coated multiwalled carbon nanotubes (MWNTs)) have been studied by X-ray absorption near-edge structures (XANES) at C K-edge, O K-edge, and Ru M5,4- and L3-edges. The variation in white-line features of the XANES at these edges supports strongly that RuO2 interacts with MWNTs through Ru-O-C bonding, which also results in charge redistribution between C 2p-derived states in MWNT and the conduction band in RuO2. Such chemical bonding is necessary to immobilize RuO2 on MWNT and ensures good conductivity of MWNT/RuO2 core/shell nanocomposite. J. G. Zhou, H. T. Fang, Y. F. Hu, T. K. Sham, C. X. Wu, M. Liu, and F. Li. J. Phys. Chem. C, 2009, 113 (24), pp 10747–10750 DOI: 10.1021/jp902871b. Publication Date (Web): May 19, 2009 4. PHASE II BEAMLINES UPDATE: FIRST PUBLICATION! The first Phase II projects (SXRMB, VESPERS and BMIT bending magnet) are now being used for scientific research, with the first science publication (from SXRMB) already accomplished (see Science Highlight above). As part of the commissioning process, before the end of 2009, all phase II beamlines will be doing science for members of the beam teams. These members have played an integral part in establishing and guiding the development of these projects, and are now providing an invaluable service by being “friendly users” as we strive to make the facilities more “user friendly.” In addition, by November 2009 all but CMCF2 will be participating in the Letter of Intent access program to support science research (CMCF2 will join that program for research beginning in January 2010). People who are not on the beam teams for the various projects may submit letters of intent. Lastly, Rob Blyth, our new Assistant Director of Research will oversee the remaining commissioning process for phase II projects. 5. ACTIVITY REPORT 2008 NOW AVAILABLE ON LINE The 2008 edition of the CLS Activity Report is now available on the CLS website at http://www.lightsource.ca/science/activity_reports.php. Print-quality PDF files of the entire report or individual chapters can be downloaded (ensure your Acrobat Reader is up to date). Hardcopies of the report will be mailed to all registered users. Reports may also be requested by clicking on the “Request Report” link on the web page. Nominations will continue to be accepted until Monday, June 29. Do not miss your opportunity to be involved in the decision making process! Forward your nominations to a member of the Users' Advisory Committee (UAC) or mailto:clsuo@lightsource.ca. A request for you to participate in the online election will be distributed on Monday, July 13. If you do not receive a request to vote by email, please contact mailto:clsuo@lightsource.ca indicating that you intend to use the CLS for your research and therefore would like to vote on UAC representation. The UAC meets on the second Monday of each month over the lunch hour (September to July) in person or by teleconference. Members also meet face-to-face in the fall and prior to the June CLS Users' meeting. The UAC provides advice to the Executive Director on the operation and management of the synchrotron and beamlines; represents the interests of CLS users; provides feedback to CLS management on various aspects of the development and operation of CLS; assists CLS in providing feedback to users about CLS-related issues and plans, and hosts the CLS Users’ Meetings, with assistance from CLS. Please visit http://www.lightsource.ca/uac/election/ for details. 7. SCIENCE HIGHLIGHT- INSTABILITY OF CALI2 AT HIGH PRESSURE: THEORETICAL PREDICTION AND EXPERIMENTAL RESULTS The search for novel superconducting materials has led to several interesting suggestions for different classes of solids for which electronic properties can be tuned by the application of pressure. In addition to simple metal hydrides, one candidate material recently proposed is CaLi2. CaLi2 is a Laves phase material with several polymorphs at ambient pressure. Hexagonal CaLi2 has been predicted to undergo a bifurcated lattice distortion into polymorphs that may be candidates for superconductivity at high pressure. In this study, density functional and experimental X-ray diffraction techniques are employed to investigate the highpressure stability of hexagonal CaLi2. Calculated enthalpies of hexagonal CaLi2 and elemental Ca and Li indicate that CaLi2 becomes unstable against segregation at pressures above 7GPa. Our predictions are corroborated by powder X-ray diffraction measurements which show that the application of non-hydrostatic pressure leads to a partial decomposition of CaLi2 to elemental species of Ca and Li. A quantitative phase analysis of hexagonal CaLi2 and cubic Ca clearly shows an increase of the latter for pressures above 14GPa. Finally, it is suggested that the recently reported superconductivity of CaLi2 at high pressure may contain decomposed Ca and Li. J. S. Tse, D. D. Klug, S. Desgreniers, J. S. Smith and R. Dutrisac. EPL 86 56001 (6pp) DOI:10.1209/0295-5075/86/56001. Published online 9 June 2009. 8. NEW STAFF AND NOW HIRING We are pleased to announce that Robert Blyth is our new Assistant Director of Research effective June 1, 2009. This is a new position, and Rob’s primary responsibility will be to oversee the day-to-day research operations of the experimental hall at CLS, and to ensure scientific and technical support for the normal operation of the beamlines. We are currently accepting applications for the following positions:
For the full position descriptions please go to http://www.lightsource.ca/careers =============================================== Last modified: 2009-09-01 15:09:39 |
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