Max-Planck-Institut für Nachhaltige Materialien

Achieving High Spatial Resolution Transmission Electron Microscopy Studies in Closed Liquid Cells

Liquid cell transmission electron microscopy (LCTEM) is a rising technique for probing dynamic processes and structural transformations in liquid environments at the nanoscale. However, its broader application is largely constrained by limited spatial resolution, which arises fro...

From scrap to prime: Designing high-performance alloys from dirty feedstocks with machine learning

Producing alloys from recycled metals via secondary synthesis can markedly cut energy use, greenhouse-gas emissions, and dependence on scarce, strategically important elements relative to primary routes. The central obstacle is the feedstock itself: Scrap is chemically heterogene...

Turning Nd‐Fe‐B Swarf Into High‐Value Bulk Feedstocks via Sustainable Hydrogen Plasma: From Rare‐Earth Oxides to Metals and Hydrides

ABSTRACT Rare‐earth permanent magnets (REPMs) are crucial for electric vehicles, wind turbines, and other high‐efficiency electric motor systems. However, their production is energy‐intensive, and global recycling rates are below 0.2%. Machining swarf is the main industrial waste...

Deciphering coccolith formation: advanced microscopy insights from the biomineralization of Gephyrocapsa huxleyi

Abstract Coccolithophores are unicellular marine phytoplankton that produce complex and intricately shaped mineralized scales called coccoliths. Coccoliths are produced in an intracellular vesicle where crystal nucleation occurs, from which several individual calcite units develo...

Correlative microscopy reveals chemical short-range order and native oxide in medium-entropy alloys

High- and medium-entropy alloys can exhibit exceptional sets of mechanical and catalytic properties underpinned by the vast array of local atomic arrangements. Among the key features governing properties is the self-assembly of specific atomic neighborhoods, a process known as ch...

Grain boundary complexions stabilize Mg3Sb2-based thermoelectric devices with superior performance

Grain boundary complexions stabilize Mg 3 Sb 2 -based thermoelectric devices with superior performanceGraphical abstract Highlights • Ga-rich grain boundary complexions block Mg-diffusion channels • Mg 3 Sb 2 materials stabilize at 718 K for over 80 h• Single-leg device shows 13....

Supporting AI Readiness Through Digital Workflows in Materials Science

Materials science produces heterogeneous data across experiments, simulations, and industrial processes that often remain bound to local formats, manual procedures, and project‐specific software. Digital workflows address this fragmentation through explicit, repeatable, and machi...

Universal alignment of defect thermodynamics in hematite

Abstract First-principles defect calculations in hematite ( α -Fe 2 O 3 ) suffer from a >2 eV spread in reported formation energies, arising from (i) metastable or delocalized charge states and (ii) inconsistent error cancellation with chemical-potential boundaries across stud...

Interface engineering enables fast bainitic transformations with minimal alloying

Abstract Fine microstructures in steels are commonly produced by the low-temperature decomposition of austenite. Bainite is one such microstructure, combining high strength and excellent toughness, but its formation kinetics is sluggish. Here, we demonstrate a strategy to acceler...