Forging designer supramolecular hydrogels

A research group from the University of Glasgow in the United Kingdom reports in the journal Nature Synthesis that dynamic supramolecular hydrogels can be designed with desired structures using a new ‘forging’ technique. The out-of-equilibrium system was tested using MAX IV’s Small Angle X-ray Scattering (SAXS) beamline, CoSAXS.

Nanoscience for clean water at ForMAX supported by ReMade@ARI

Alejandro Cortés Villena and Alessandro Ciccone from Institute of Molecular Science in Valencia are using the ForMAX beamline as part of their research supported by ReMade@ARI, a collaboration project focusing on Circular Economy. They are studying carbon-based nanomaterials that are going to be used for enabling cleaning of contaminants in water with the help of sunlight through photocatalysis.

Targeting weaknesses in quick clays with X-ray data

Recent landslides in Scandinavia linked to quick clays in the underlying soil have caused major damage to societal infrastructure and even loss of life. In urban areas in particular, quick clays can pose a significant hazard when disturbed. Research on the clay material structure holds promise to understand why quick clay soils can collapse without warning, and in connection, provide valuable insight for improved planning of buildings, roads, and bridges as well as public safety measures. New techniques for the study of quick clays include small angle X-ray scattering (SAXS) available at MAX IV’s CoSAXS beamline, and full-field tomographic imaging and small- and wide-angle X-ray scattering (SWAXS) at ForMAX beamline.

Lantmännen investigating wheat bran for better-tasting fibre

Swedish agricultural cooperative Lantmännen is using the ForMAX beamline together with researchers from KTH Royal Institute of Technology, Stockholm University and Lund University for investigating the structure of wheat bran. The team hope to get clues on how to extract more fiber from the bran to use in tasty food products with health benefits.

ForMAX beamline celebrates 1 year in operations

November 1 marks one year since ForMAX beamline officially opened for user experiments. Congratulations to ForMAX and everyone involved in making ForMAX possible! It has been one exciting first year.

ReMade@ARI Call for Proposals

Are you motivated to develop materials for a circular economy? Do you have an innovative scientific idea, potentially even with an industrial impact? The ReMade project is committed to supporting the development of innovative, sustainable materials by providing scientists with analytical tools to explore the properties and structure of materials right down to atomic resolution.

ForMAX beamline is now open for experiments

ForMAX, the newest beamline at MAX IV, is now officially open for experiments. The focus will be research on new, sustainable materials from the forest, but the beamline will also be useful for research in many other fields and industries, including food, textiles, and life science.

Designing materials for a circular economy

According to the European Union’s Circular Economy Action Plan, industry can determine up to 80 % of a product’s subsequent environmental impact at the design phase. However, the linear manufacturing pattern offers few incentives to make products more sustainable. The research infrastructure project ReMade@ARI, which deals with innovative materials for key components in various areas such as electronics, packaging or textiles, aims to change this: The goal is to develop new materials with high recyclability and at the same time competitive functionalities. To this end, the institutions involved want to harness the potential of more than 50 analytical research infrastructures throughout Europe. MAX IV is a partner of this consortium.

Webinar: Explore the ForMAX beamline at MAX IV

This fall, the ForMAX beamline at MAX IV will go into operation, opening the door to new research opportunities. You are invited to join a series of free webinars to learn about the beamline and how to get access to the instrument. The first webinar is on September 14th 2022.