Helmholtz-Institute Ulm

Nanoconfinement-cooperated catalysis enables rapid tandem redox kinetics for wide-temperature lithium-sulfur batteries

The slow kinetics of sulfur cathodes caused by the high energy barriers of Li + desolvation stem primarily from the structure of the inner Helmholtz plane (IHP). Herein, a synergistic strategy combining electrochemical tandem catalysis with spatial nanoconfinement is proposed to...

C-Pol: Point-Charge Perturbation Scheme for Mapping Tensor Moment Surfaces

Abstract Molecular polarizability tensors beyond the dipole–dipole level are key inputs to polarizable force fields, polarizable embedding, and machine-learned response models, yet routines to compute them exist in few quantum chemistry codes and are largely confined to atom-cent...

Tailoring Piezoelectric Materials for High Energy Density Batteries: Fundamentals, Advances, and Perspectives

ABSTRACT High‐energy‐density rechargeable batteries are plagued by electrode polarization, unstable interfaces, and parasitic side reactions, which severely restrict their electrochemical performance across diverse battery chemistries. Piezoelectric materials can construct dynami...

Elucidation of the Hydrogen Evolution Reaction on a Photochemical Molecular Device

Abstract The direct conversion of solar energy to produce useful chemical products such as molecular hydrogen is one of the ultimate goals of photocatalysis. Photochemical molecular devices enable such a process cost-efficiently while offering additional benefits like repairabili...

Competitive Anion Coordination Modulates Anode Interfacial Chemistry for Wide‐Temperature Sodium Batteries

ABSTRACT Sodium‐ion batteries (SIBs) offer a promising, cost‐effective alternative for large‐scale energy storage due to the abundance of sodium. However, their practical deployment is challenged by sluggish interfacial kinetics and unstable interphase formation, which severely l...

Remote intestinal changes following blast-induced thoracic trauma with transient hemorrhagic shock and hind-limb ischemia

Abstract Background The intestine is both a driver and a target of posttraumatic organ dysfunction. However, it remains unclear whether, and to what extent an extra-abdominal trauma, such as thoracic trauma with transient hemorrhagic shock and hind-limb ischemia (THS), provokes r...

Optimising Material Ratios for Full-Colour 3D-Printed Dental Restorations

Accurate colour reproduction remains a challenge in manufactured dental restorations because tooth appearance depends on wavelength-dependent absorption and scattering, geometry, illumination, and viewing conditions. We present a measurement- and simulation-based workflow for det...

Self‐Stratifying Electrolyte Enables Triple‐Interface Regulation for Highly Reversible Zn Metal Batteries

ABSTRACT Aqueous zinc metal batteries (AZMBs) are challenged by the incompatibility between cathode kinetic demands and Zn‐anode interfacial stability in homogeneous electrolytes. Biphasic electrolytes can spatially decouple the two electrode environments, yet the accompanying li...

4CzIPN Photosensitizes the Cobaloxime‐Catalyzed Light‐Driven Hydrogen Evolution Reaction

TADF compounds have found great application as photocatalyst in recent years. Their use as photosensitizers (PS), however, is still limited although they have a huge potential as abundant alternatives for traditional noble metal-based PSs, such as [Ru(bpy)3]2+. We herein investig...

Surface‐Fluorinated Conductive Carbon for Coupled Electron/Ion Transport Through the Graphite Anode

ABSTRACT Graphite (Gr) is the dominant anode material for commercial lithium‐ion batteries (LIBs). However, its fast‐charging capability is often constrained by sluggish Li + transport and large interfacial polarization under high current densities. Conventional conductive carbon...

Investigation of In Situ Cross-linked Polyacrylic Acid-PEG Binder for Si-dominant Anodes in Lithium-Ion Full Cells

Abstract Silicon (Si) is a highly promising anode material for lithium-ion batteries due to its high theoretical capacity. However, its practical use is limited by significant volume changes and resulting degradation during cycling. To enhance the mechanical stability of the Si a...

Decoupling Ion–Dipole Interactions via Competitive Coordination for Durable Dendrite-Free Zinc Metal Batteries

Abstract The aqueous zinc metal batteries (AZMBs) are famous for high-safety and high-energy-density, but limited by severe challenges around the Helmholtz plane layer such as the strong ion–dipole interactions between Zn 2+ and H 2 O, resulting in slow desolvation processes and...

Impact of oxygen and hydrogen traces on the focused ion beam sputter rate and secondary ion mass spectrometry intensity detection of graphite

Trace amounts of oxygen and hydrogen can strongly influence the formation of negative carbon ions during focused ion beam–secondary ion mass spectrometry (SIMS) analysis of graphite. In this study, the sputtering behavior of graphite and the detection of single and clustered carb...