CNR-IOM leads a study on innovative and sustainable materials to transform methane into methanol, a valuable fuel in the energy transition process as well as a molecule widely used in the chemical industry. The methodology is described in the international scientific journal “Small”.

The doping of metal oxides is a valuable route to increase catalyst activity and lower activation temperatures in H2 dissociation to replace Pt in catalysts for electrochemical devices. In this study, we observed that Cu doping promotes CeO2 reduction, while the addition of Fe seems to have a limited impact on the oxide chemical reactivity only at low temperatures.

The research team of Sprint laboratory at CNR-IOM in Trieste revealed the prevailing thermal nature of light-induced ultrafast demagnetization in the regime of low perturbation, by means of pump-probe photoemission spectroscopy. Despite similar findings were evidenced in previous research, up to now few works had employed photoemission spectroscopy, which allows a direct insight on the electronic temperature and on the magnetic moment at the Fermi level during the ultrafast process.

SrVO3 (SVO) transparent conductive oxide (TCO) thin film, both visible-range optically transparent and highly conductive, shows great potential as a viable alternative to standard ITO (indium tin oxide) in various applications. In this study, our researchers investigated the surface stability of SVO under different gaseous atmospheres, particularly water, using spectroscopy characterizations such as x-ray photoemission (XPS) and operando ambient pressure x-ray absorption spectroscopy (XAS) techniques. Their findings reveal the formation of a few nanometer-thick insulating Sr-rich V5+ layer on the surface of the SVO film over time. To restore the TCO properties, this work demonstrates for the very first time that this undesired phase can be effectively removed through a water etching process, which is successful in both liquid and vapor forms.

The combination of operando/in situ X-Ray spectroscopies and DFT calculations allowed to clarify the role of SnOx surface content in NixSny intermetallic compounds in enhancing their selectivity to H2 during catalytic methanol decomposition reaction.

Measurements at the APE-HE beamline of Elettra Sincrotrone Trieste have helped to determine spectroscopically the magnetic changes of Ni thin film due to light induced photostriction in PMN-PT ferroelectric substrate.

An international team of researchers led by the National Research Council (CNR), IOM institute in Trieste, Italy, and the Departments of Chemistry at Princeton University, Louisiana State University and Rutgers University in United States, in a joint venture between theorists, experimentalists and sample growers across chemistry and physics, used advanced characterization tools and chemically selective X-ray spectroscopies to study the magnetic and electronic properties of EuSn2P2, a magnetic topological insulator composed of Europium, Tin, and Phosphorus arranged in a layer-by-layer crystalline structure.

Multiferroic materials with coexisting ferroelectric and ferromagnetic orders have attracted much attention due to the magnetoelectric (ME) coupling opening prospects for alternative multifunctional electronic devices. Switching magnetization by applied electric rather than magnetic field or spin-polarized current requires much less energy, making multiferroics promising for memory and logic applications. Due to a limited number of single-phase multiferroic compounds operating at room temperature, composite multiferroics containing ferroelectric and ferromagnetic components have been considered as viable alternatives. Moreover, it was shown that composite multiferroic materials often have much larger magnetoelectric coupling effect compared to their single-phase counterparts.

ARPES and Spin-ARPES measurements within NFFA Trieste facility allowed to establish that the mineral kitkaite (NiTeSe) originating from the Kitka river area in Finland, hosts type II Dirac Fermions and spin polarized topological surface states with implementation potential in novel photonics, spintronics, and optoelectronics devices.

Combined STM/S and ARPES and Spin-ARPES measurements within NFFA Trieste allowed to correlate the two distinct electronic band structures measured on Pt3Te4 to two distinct surface terminations, both characterized by strongly spin-polarized states. This renders mitrofanovite a candidate material for tunable device functionalities in nanoelectronics, spintronics, optoelectronics, and plasmonic applications.

Ziegler−Natta (ZN) catalysts are at the main responsible for polyolefin production, affording at present almost 80 million tons of polypropylene per year, with a worldwide economic turnover exceeding 100 billion dollars. However, a true understanding of their properties at the molecular level is still missing. In particular, there is a lack of knowledge on the electronic properties of Ti sites.

Transient Photoemission Spectroscopy at SPRINT @ NFFA-Trieste allowed quantitative, model-free measurement of the ultrafast electron-temperature dynamics of photoexcited plasmonic gold nanoparticles.

Effects of the V2O3 structural phase transition on the magnetic properties of an amorphous magnetic thin film of CoFeB in contact with it. By means of temperature dependent Kerr effect characterizations, in this paper is proven that crossing the V2O3 structural phase transition induces reproducible and reversible changes to CoFeB magnetic properties, especially to its coercive field.

A fine analysis of local structure and magnetic response of Co films intercalated between Graphene and Iridium (Gr/Co/Ir systems) has revealed how the response of such systems to annealing depends on the Co thickness.

The interesting mechanisms of CO oxidation on the novel Mg0.2Co0.2Ni0.2Cu0.2Zn0.2O high entropy oxide were studied by means of operando soft X-ray absorption spectroscopy at APE-HE beamline.

The combination of XAS, XMCD and PES measurements showed the role of interfacial magnetic coupling at Fe/VSe2 interface and its chemical reactivity.

Spin-resolved ARPES experiments on topological insulator Bi2Se3 thin films have been performed at the NFFA-APE facility of IOM-CNR and Elettra (Trieste). Films have been grown by the PLD facility and in-situ transferred to the analysis UHV chambers. Our results demonstrate that the topological surface state can be obtained in PLD-grown Bi2Se3 thin films.

Followed by the discovery of remarkable electronic and physical properties of two-dimensional (2D) materials such as graphene and topological insulators, transition metal dichalcogenides (TMDs), long of interest in material science, have received a renewed attention.