Publications Repository - Helmholtz-Zentrum Dresden-Rossendorf

Actinide chemistry is of utmost importance for chemical engineering and environmental science related to the nuclear industry or nuclear waste repositories. Yet, their chemistry remains underexplored relative to other elements in the periodic table. This is equally true for fundamental studies regarding complexation chemistry or redox properties and applied investigations of geochemical behavior and environmental transport.
In this presentation, I will give an overview of recent (and not so recent) studies attempting to link the actinides’ fundamental properties with their environmental transport. Systematic studies of their coordination chemistry offer a promising route to obtain fundamental knowledge about chemical bonding in actinide compounds. Here, a suitable approach is to study series of isostructural actinide compounds, in which the metal is present in the same oxidation state. Changes in structures, bond distances, or spectroscopic properties can then be related to changes in f-orbital occupation. One important issue in this context is the degree of covalency in these compounds and how it depends on the donor atoms of a ligand, or the electronic structure and oxidation state of the actinide.
It is this chemical behavior, which then affects how mobile actinides can be if they are released into the environment as a consequence of nuclear accidents, other accidental releases or in the context of nuclear waste disposal. In these scenarios, special attention must be paid to processes occurring at the water/mineral interface. Here, we will discuss how a combination of spectroscopy, microscopy, and surface X-ray diffraction can be used to both, obtain molecular level information from the interfacial region and also relate this molecular processes to retention behavior in macroscopic, close-to-realistic systems, such as natural crystalline rock.

The magnetization dynamics in nanostructures has been extensively studied in the last decades, and nanomagnetism has
evolved significantly over that time, discovering new effects, developing numerous applications, and identifying promising
new directions. This includes magnonics, an emerging research field oriented on the study of spin-wave dynamics and their
applications. In this context, thin ferromagnetic films with perpendicular magnetic anisotropy (PMA) offer interesting
opportunities to study spin waves, in particular, due to out-of-plane magnetization in remanence or at relatively weak
external magnetic fields. This is the only magnetization configuration offering isotropic in-plane spin-wave propagation within
the sample plane, the forward volume magnetostatic spin-wave geometry. The isotropic dispersion relation is highly
important in designing signal-processing devices, offering superior prospects for direct replicating various concepts from
photonics into magnonics. Analogous to photonic or phononic crystals, which are the building blocks of optoelectronics and
phononics, magnonic crystals are considered as key components in magnonics applications. Arrays of nanodots and
structured ferromagnetic thin films with a periodic array of holes, popularly known as antidot lattices based on PMA
multilayers, have been recently studied. Novel magnonic properties related to propagating spin-wave modes, exploitation of
the band gaps, and confined modes were demonstrated. Also, the existence of nontrivial magnonic band topologies has
been shown. Moreover, the combination of PMA and Dzyaloshinskii–Moriya interaction leads to the formation of chiral
magnetization states, including Néel domain walls, skyrmions, and skyrmionium states. This promotes the multilayers with
PMA as an interesting topic for magnonics and this chapter reviews the background and attempts to provide future
perspectives in this research field.

Background:

Glioblastoma (GBM) is a very aggressive brain tumor, associated with poor prognosis and survival. So far, the efficiency of available therapies is limited. After proving their effectiveness in targeting hematological malignancies, chimeric antigen receptor (CAR) T cells might provide a promising therapeutic approach for GBM. Here, we present our switchable Reverse CAR technology (RevCAR). Unlike conventional CAR T cells, RevCAR T cells contain an epitope in their extracellular receptor domain, and can only be activated via bispecific target modules (RevTM) which recognize the RevCAR T cells on one side and tumor cells on the other side. Once these TMs are eliminated, RevCARs are switched off. In addition, we have developed dual-targeting RevCARs allowing the control of T cells according to the AND gate logic of Boolean algebra.

Methods:

RevTMs directed against GMB were expressed in eukaryotic cells and purified with affinity chromatography. The ability of these RevTMs to bind GBM cells and RevCAR T cells was analyzed using flow cytometry. Moreover, the capability of the mono-specific and the dual-targeting RevCAR T cells to kill GBM cells was analyzed using luminescence-based cytotoxicity assay in the absence or presence of a range of RevTM concentrations. Secreted pro-inflammatory cytokines were also evaluated by ELISA. In addition to the in vitro assays, a proof of concept co-injection experiment was performed in vivo.

Results:

In this study, we show that GBM-specific RevTMs can bind both the RevCAR T cells and the GBM cells. Importantly, the RevCAR T cells can be activated to secrete pro-inflammatory cytokines and to efficiently kill GBM cells via the RevTMs. Moreover, we were able to prove that dual-targeting RevCAR T cells can be activated only upon recognition of two different GBM targets, thereby allowing a highly specific and selective killing of GBM both in vitro and in vivo.

Conclusion:

In conclusion, the switchable RevCAR platform is a novel therapeutic approach that provides improved safety and allows combinatorial targeting of GBM.

We consider local semitransparent Neumann boundary conditions for a quantum scalar field as imposed by a quadratic coupling to a source localized on a flat codimension-one surface. Upon a proper regularization to give meaning to the interaction, we interpret the effective action as a theory in a first-quantized phase space. We compute the relevant heat-kernel to all order in a homogeneous background and quadratic order in perturbations, giving a closed expression for the corresponding effective action in $D=4$. In the dynamical case, we analyze the pair production caused by a harmonic perturbation and a Sauter pulse. Notably, we prove the existence of a strong/weak duality that links this Neumann field theory to the analogue Dirichlet one.

Actinides play an important role in chemical engineering and environmental science related to the nuclear industry or nuclear waste repositories.[1] One of the major tools to obtain a profound basic knowledge about actinide (An) binding is the coordination chemistry of An using model ligands. However, fundamental An chemistry is still relatively little explored. Characteristic of the actinides is their huge variety of possible oxidation states, typically ranging from +II to +VII for early An, making their chemistry complex but interesting. A suitable approach to explore fundamental physico-chemical properties of the actinides is to study series of isostructural An compounds in which the An is in the same oxidation state.[2] Observed changes in e.g. the binding situation or magnetic effects among the An series may deliver insight into their unique electronic properties mainly originating from the f-electrons. A question still remaining in the field of An chemistry is the degree of “covalency” in compounds across the An series,[3] which may be addressed by systematic studies on series of An compounds, including transuranium (TRU) elements.
In this study we investigate the coordination chemistry of tetravalent actinides (An(IV)), which are dominant particularly under anoxic environmental conditions, using the organic salen ligand (salen = N,N’-bis(salicylidene)ethylenediamine) as a small N,O donor.[4] In addition, we change halogen (F, Cl, Br, I) and solvent (MeOH, THF, MeCN, pyridine) donors (see Figure 1) in order to analyse the ligand’s effect on covalency trends as well as their mutual influence, mainly using single crystal X-ray diffraction (SC-XRD), high-energy-resolution fluorescence detection X-ray absorption near edge spectroscopy (HERFD-XANES), and quantum chemical calculations (QCC).

The 5f electrons of particularly the early actinides are found to participate in bonding, e.g. to organic ligands, in contrast to the strongly shielded 4f electrons of the lanthanides. Reactivity and complexation strength of such bonds are affected by donor properties of the ligand and the electronic situation of the actinide metal center. Furthermore, coinciding properties of ligand and actinide ion regarding Pearson’s principle of hard and soft acids and bases (HSAB) can even drive the development of selective ligands, e.g. for extraction processes. Here, soft N-donor ligands were found to interact stronger with trivalent actinides in comparison to their harder lanthanide analogues.1
To evaluate how these electronic properties can be extended to a series of tetravalent actinides and their interactions with N-donor ligands, we have studied the complexation of tetravalent Th, Pa, U, Np, and Pu with the amidinate (S,S)-N,N’-bis-(1-phenylethyl)-benzamidine (PEBA), and the Schiff base N,N’-ethylene-bis((pyrrole-2-yl)methan¬imine (pyren).2-4
Complex syntheses using one equivalent of AnCl4(dme)x (An = Th, U, Np, Pu; x = 0 for U, x = 2 for Th, Np, Pu) and three equivalents of PEBA, or two equivalents of pyren led to isostructural heteroleptic 3:1 complexes [AnCl(PEBA)3] or homoleptic 2:1 complexes [An(pyren)2]. Both series were analyzed in the solid state by SC-XRD and IR, as well as in solution by NMR spectroscopy. SC-XRD results and quantum chemical calculations (QCC) revealed differences in AnIV–ligand bond length and strength between the different nitrogen donors (Namidinate, Nimine, Npyrrolide). In addition, with the help of QCC, trends regarding the covalency of the metal-ligand bonds could be derived and assigned to the involved orbitals. Delocalization indices for N–PaIV showed a strong preference of the highly polarizable 5f 1 configuration of PaIV to pyren in its homoleptic complex. This effect disappears in the heteroleptic amidinate complex. Calculated quadrupole moments give a first explanation, showing an isotropically distributed charge arround PaIV in [Pa(pyren)2] but a polarization in [PaCl(PEBA)3].
Halogen exchange reactions of Cl in [AnCl(PEBA)3] was successful for F, Br, and N3 (see Fig. 1). NMR spectra revealed a strong effect of the halogen on the paramagnetic shift, potentially again indicating the impact of the halogen on the polarizabiliy of charge arround the tetravalent actinide.

In contrast to the strongly shielded 4f electrons of the lanthanides, 5f electrons of particularly the early actinides are found to participate in bonding, e.g. to organic ligands. Reactivity and complexation strength of such bonds are the most influenced by donor properties of the ligand and the electronic situation of the actinide metal center. Furthermore, coinciding properties of ligand and actinide ion regarding Pearson’s principle of hard and soft acids and bases (HSAB) can even drive the development of selective ligands, e.g. for extraction processes. Here, soft N-donor ligands were found to interact stronger with trivalent actinides in comparison to their harder lanthanide analogues.1
To evaluate how these HSAB properties can be extended to a series of tetravalent actinides and their interactions with N-donor ligands, we have studied the complexation of tetravalent Th, Pa, U, Np, and Pu with N,N’-ethylene-bis((pyrrole-2-yl)methanimine (pyren) in comparison to its structural N,O-analogue, the salen ligand.2
Complex syntheses using one equivalent of AnCl4(dme)x (An = Th, U, Np, Pu; x = 0 for U, x = 2 for Th, Np, Pu) and two equivalents of pyren led to isostructural 2:1 complexes, which were analyzed in the solid state by SC-XRD and IR, as well as in solution via NMR spectroscopy. SC-XRD results and quantum chemical calculations revealed differences in AnIV–ligand bond length and strength within pyren (Nimine vs. Npyrrolide donors) or salen (Nimine vs. Ophenolate). Interestingly, the overall bond strength of the N-donor vs. N,O-donor to An(IV), however, is almost equal for both, [An(pyren)2] and [An(salen)2] (An = Th-Pu). Delocalization indices even confirmed slightly more covalent interactions between the N,O-donor salen and Th, U, Np, and Pu in comparison with pyren. For Pa, on the other hand, this trend is reversed. QTAIM analysis could prove particularly strong interactions with the pure N-donor ligand pyren. This extraordinarily good electron sharing between pyren and Pa can be explained by the 5f1 configuration of Pa(IV), being particularly well polarizable and thus well suited for an effective backbonding to the soft N-donors of the pyren ligand.

Click chemistry, and in particular copper-free click reactions, have gained growing interest for radiolabeling purposes in the field of radiopharmaceutical sciences. [^99mTc][Tc(CO)3(H2O)3]⁺ is an excellent starting complex for radiolabeling of biomolecules under mild conditions. A new chelator, investigated for the copper-free strain-promoted cycloaddition, was synthesized containing the 2,2’-dipicolylamine (DPA) moiety for the ^99mTc-tricarbonyl core and compared with a chelator based on activated esters for conventional radiolabeling. For the copper-free click labeling procedure, a DPA containing 4,8-diazacyclononyne moiety was prepared from a sulfonyl-modified diamide (four steps, 64% yield) ensued by the Nicholas reaction with butyne-1,3-diol. The ^99mTc-DPA-DACN-complex was prepared with a radiochemical conversion (RCC) of 89% after 30 min. The following SPAAC reaction with an azide-functionalized PSMA molecule was performed within 4 hours to obtain the PSMA (prostate-specific membrane antigen) targeting ^99mTc-complex with 79% RCC and without side products. For comparison, a second DPA-chelator based on a tetrafluorophenyl (TFP) ester was prepared (three steps, 64% yield) and was successfully radiolabeled with [[^99mTc]Tc(CO)3(H2O)3]+ in 89% RCC after 20 min and >99% radiochemical purity after separation using an RP18 cartridge. The subsequent conjugation of an amine-functionalized PSMA targeting molecule was performed with 23% RCC after 150 min. Two other unknown side products were observed indicating hydrolysis of the TFP ester during the labeling. All nonradioactive Re(CO)3 complexes were synthesized from (Et4N)2[ReBr3(CO)3] (91% yield for the natRe-DPA-TFP ester, 76% yield for the natRe-DPA-DACN) and characterized to confirm the identity of the 99mTc-complexes.

Lithium-ion batteries (LIBs) have become an indispensable part of modern life. Whether in tools, mobile phones, scooters, or electric cars, the demand for LIBs is increasing in many areas of everyday life. Various scenarios predict an almost exponential growth in the demand for electrochemically stored energy and thus also in the demand for key elements for LIBs such as lithium, cobalt, and nickel. Many of the current recycling processes are limited to recovering valuable metals such as cobalt and nickel due to economic viability. Base metals such as aluminum are usually not recovered and are thus lost to the raw material cycle.

The rising production of lithium-ion batteries (LIBs) due to the introduction of stationary and portable energy-storage devices as well as electric mobility in particular demands an efficient and sustainable waste management scheme. In principle, the material transformation from end-of-life (EOL) LIBs to secondary (raw) materials follows the recycling chain for wastes. Therein, processing aims to break up the bonds between the individual components and materials of the battery to enrich them into defined concentrates for subsequent metallurgical refining. In general, mechanical processes are more energyefficient and economically affordable than thermal, chemical, and metallurgical ones. Consequently, a combination of several crushing, size classifying, and sorting steps are commonly used to prepare concentrates for further treatment. This chapter presents the principles of mechanical liberation and physical separation processes for EOL LIB processing. Combinations of specific processes categorized by their feed materials are proposed and discussed, outlining possible material fractions and further potential for research and development. LIB recycling with a mechanical processing unit is shown to achieve high recycling efficiencies that enable the fulfill the upcoming and updated European legal framework regarding LIB disposal.

Magnetotactic bacteria are characterized by intracellular magnetic mineral crystals of magnetite (Fe₃O₄) or greigite (Fe₃S₄), which helps them to orientate themselves along the Earth's magnetic field for reaching regions of optimal oxygen concentrations. They are facultative anaerobe and usually found in a large abundance in oxic-anoxic transition zones of aquatic environments, in sediments of freshwater, brackish, marine, and hypersaline habitats [1]. Assuming that magnetotactic bacteria can also be found in the far-field of a nuclear waste repository, studies on the interaction of a natural bacterial strain of Magnetospirillum magneticum AMB-1 cells with U were carried out for the first time using a multidisciplinary approach combining microscopy and different spectroscopic techniques to achieve a better molecular understanding. Results of batch sorption experiments show that Magnetospirillum magneticum AMB-1 can survive both in a wide pH range and with relatively high U concentrations of up to 0.1 mM, while effectively and almost completely immobilizing U in the first hours of incubation. (S)TEM/EDXS studies on ultrathin sections of cells loaded with 0.1 mM U clearly indicate that U is predominantly located in the cell wall. Since it is known from previous studies [2] that U often binds to the cell wall of bacteria by interacting with cell wall compounds, important ligands were used, such as peptidoglycan, lipopolysaccharide, L-rhamnose, D-(+) galactose and D-(+) mannose as possible complexants for U and measured by cryo-TRLFS combined with PARAFAC. The results show five U species and highlight the dominant role of peptidoglycan as main sorbent of U on the cell wall of Magnetospirillum magneticum AMB-1 cells, showing three characteristic peptidoglycan species. In-situ ATR FT-IR studies confirm the predominant binding to carboxylic functionalities and reveal that polynuclear species seem to play an important role at higher pH.

Precession driven flows are ubiquitous natural phenomena. Similarly to other
forcing mechanism, precession motion causes complex behavior in the fluid flow
consisting of interplay between rotating and inertial wave turbulence. Turbulent
precessing flows can drive dynamo action

The legacy of the former uranium (U) mining in Saxony and Thuringia (Germany) still shows uranium concentrations, e.g., in the mine water of some mines. The present study describes the biostimulation of the native U reducing microbial community in a U contaminated mine water as an efficient and eco-friendly strategy for in situ bioremediation to prospectively support or outperform chemical water treatments.

The microbial community was characterized by 16S and ITS1 rRNA gene analyses, showing a relative abundance of native microbial groups with the ability to alter the speciation and redox state of soluble U (e.g., _{Desulfovibrio}, Gallionella, Penicillium and Aspergillus). Additionally, Inductively Coupled Plasma-Mass spectrometry (ICP-MS) and Ionic Chromatography (IC) were used to determine geochemical profile of the mine water, exhibiting a notable concentration of U (1.01mg/L), SO₄ ^2- (335mg/L), Fe (0.99mg/L) and Mn (1.44mg/L). Cryo-Time-Resolved Laser Fluorescence spectroscopy (cryo-TRLFS) and Parallel Factor Analysis (PARAFAC) determined the aqueous species Ca₂UO₂(CO₃)₃ ^4- as the main U species in mine water. A set of anerobic microcosms, supplemented with glycerol (10mM) as electron donor to stimulate U reducing bacteria, were designed as basis of an in situ bioremediation strategy for uranium contaminated waters. A thermodynamic Eh-pH dominance diagram calculated using Geochemist's Workbench predicted the reduction of U(VI) and the formation of the solid U-ore (uraninite). At the end of the experiment, ICP-MS and Ion-Chromatography analysis from the microcosms revealed a decrease of U (≈98%), Fe (≈91%) and SO₄ ^2- (≈88%). Furthermore, the black precipitate formed at the bottom of the microcosm was analyzed by High Energy Resolution Fluorescence Detected Near-edge X-ray absorption fine structure (HERFD-XANES) and Extended X-ray absorption fine structure (EXAFS) identifying mainly U(IV) (≈80%) and U(V) (≈20%).

The results obtained revealed that microbial cycling processes have a significant impact on the complete enzymatic reduction of soluble U(VI) to U(IV) and U(V) by the addition of an electron donor in low U concentration contaminated mine water. Therefore, this methodology could be an efficient bioremediation approach for the management of U contaminated mine water, as well as low U contaminated mine water scenarios, through the biostimulation of its indigenous microbial community.

Heating to high-lying states strongly limits the experimental observation of driving induced nonequilibrium phenomena, particularly when the drive has a broad spectrum. Here we show that, for entire
families of structured random drives known as random multipolar drives, particle excitation to higher bands
can be well controlled even away from a high-frequency driving regime. This opens a window for
observing drive-induced phenomena in a long-lived prethermal regime in the lowest band.

Uranium (U) and its mining have historically been strongly related to East Germany. From the second half of the 20th century onwards, the Federal States of Saxony and Thuringia have been the scene of intense mining activity. The cessation of mining activities in 1990, has led to the generation of U contaminated areas. Nowadays, conventional remediation methodologies are not able to remove soluble U entirely. Microorganisms offer an environmental friendly water remediation strategy for U through bioreduction or biomineralization. The present study describes a strategy for in situ bioremediation of U(VI) from a U mine water by biostimulation of the native U reducing microbial community.
The geochemical profile of the mine water was characterized by Inductively Coupled Plasma-Mass spectrometry (ICP-MS) and Ionic Chromatography (IC), showing a substantial concentration of U (1.01mg/L), SO₄ ^2- (335mg/L), Fe (0.99mg/L) and Mn (1.44mg/L). Cryo-Time-Resolved Laser Fluorescence spectroscopy (cryo-TRLFS) and Parallel Factor Analysis (PARAFAC) determined the aqueous species Ca₂UO₂(CO₃)₃ ^4- as the main U species in mine water. In addition, 16S and ITS1 rRNA gene analyses were used to characterize the microbial community, indicating a relative abundance of natural microbial groups with U(VI)-reduction ability (e.g., Desulfovibrio, GallionellaSideroxydans). For the design of an in situ bioremediation technology for U contaminated waters, a set of anoxic microcosms supplemented with glycerol (10mM) as electron donor was previously designed. A thermodynamic Eh-pH dominance diagram calculated using Geochemist's Workbench predicted the reduction of U(VI) and the formation of the solid U-mineral (uraninite). After 3 months, ICP-MS and Ion-Chromatography analysis from the microcosms revealed a decrease of U (≈98%), SO₄2- (≈88%) and Fe (≈91%). Furthermore, the black precipitate formed at the bottom of the microcosm was analyzed by UV-Vis spectroscopy, identifying mainly U(IV).
The results obtained revealed the U enzymatic reduction of U(VI) to U(IV) by the addition of an electron donor in low concentrated U contaminated mine waters. Thus, this strategy might be an efficient bioremediation approach for U contaminated mine waters, by biostimulating their indigenous microbial community.

Quantum optimization algorithms hold the promise of solving classically hard, discrete optimization problems
in practice. The requirement of encoding such problems in a Hamiltonian realized with a finite (and currently
small) number of qubits, however, poses the risk of finding only the optimum within the restricted space
supported by this Hamiltonian. We describe an iterative algorithm in which a solution obtained with such
a restricted problem Hamiltonian is used to define a new problem Hamiltonian that is better suited than the
previous one. In numerical examples of the shortest vector problem, we show that the algorithm with a sequence
of improved problem Hamiltonians converges to the desired solution.

Particle production through ultra-strong electric fields is a well-studied research field. Nevertheless, despite repeated attempts to relate the production rate within the field to the formation time of a particle, the latter is still shrouded in mystery. We provide an interpretation of a particle
distribution at finite times enabling us to isolate and, therefore, identify the relevant time scales
regarding particle formation in quantum physics within and beyond perturbation theory.

We provide a novel approach to calculate the gravitational form factor of pion under the ladder approximation of the Bethe-Salpeter equation, with contact interactions. Central to this approach is a symmetry-preserving treatment of the dressed ππ amplitude, which shows explicitly the contributions from intrinsic quarks and bound states, the latter being necessary to produce the D-term of pion in the soft-pion limit. The approach we provide in this work can be applied to many processes of physical significance.

The magnetised spherical Couette (MSC) problem, a three dimensional magnetohydrodynamic paradigmatic model in geo- and astrophysics, is considered to investigate bifurcations to high-dimensional invariant tori and chaotic flows in large scale dissipative dynamical systems with symmetry. The main goal of the present study is to elucidate the origin of chaotic transients and intermittent behaviour from two different sequences of Hopf bifurcations involving invariant tori with four fundamental frequencies, which may be resonant. Numerical evidence of the existence of a crisis event destroying chaotic attractors and giving rise to the chaotic transients is provided. It is also shown that unstable invariant tori take part in the time evolution of these chaotic transients. For one sequence of bifurcations, the study demonstrates that chaotic transients display on-off intermittent behaviour. A possible explanatory mechanism is discussed.

The complex formation of Eu(III) and Cm(III) was studied with tetradentate, hexadentate, and octadentate coordinating ligands of the aminopolycarboxylate family, viz. nitrilotriacetate (NTA³⁻), ethylenediaminetetraacetate (EDTA⁴⁻), and ethylene glycol-bis(2-aminoethyl ether)-N,N,N′,N′-tetraacetate (EGTA⁴⁻), respectively. Based on the complexones’ pKa values obtained from ¹H nuclear magnetic resonance (NMR) spectroscopic pH titration, complex formation constants were determined by means of parallel-factor-analysis-assisted evaluation of Eu(III) and Cm(III) time-resolved laser-induced fluorescence spectroscopy (TRLFS). This was complemented by isothermal titration calorimetry (ITC), providing the enthalpy and entropy of the complex formation. This allowed us to obtain genuine species along with their molecular structures and corresponding reliable thermodynamic data. The three investigated complexones formed 1:1 complexes with both Eu(III) and Cm(III). Besides the established Eu(III)–NTA 1:1 and 1:2 complexes, we observed, for the first time, the existence of a Eu(III)–NTA 2:2 complex as of millimolar metal and ligand concentrations. Demonstrated for thermodynamic studies on Eu(III) and Cm(III) interaction with complexones, the utilized approach is commonly applicable to many other metal–ligand systems, even to high-affinity ligands.

Despite the fact that chimeric antigen receptor (CAR) engineered T cells have shown encouraging therapeutic effects in hematological setups, the targeting of solid tumor-related antigens still represents a challenge. One main issue is that the expression of this type of antigens is not restricted to cancer cells, but normal tissues express them as well to some degree. In order to avoid strong side-effects caused by on-target/off-tumor effects, more controllable and specific CAR T cell-derived technologies need to be developed. In this line of thought, we developed the switchable, flexible and programmable Reverse (Rev) CAR platform. This system is based on engineered T cells expressing RevCAR molecules, which have extracellular short peptide epitopes incapable of recognizing surface antigens. Thus, the RevCAR T cells are per se inert and will only recognize the target cell through the interaction with an antigen-specific target module, named RevTM. RevTMs are bispecific antibodies designed to bind simultaneously to the target antigen and the short epitopes on the RevCAR engineered T cells. This interaction triggers a specific activation and cytotoxic activity of the RevCAR T cells redirecting them to eradicate the cancer cells.
Here, we adapted our RevCAR technology to target the carcinoembryonic antigen (CEA), which is a significant tumor marker for colorectal cancers and other carcinomas. Moreover, we developed two RevTMs with different structures: scFv- and IgG4-based. The first one is built by linking a scFv against CEA to a scFv that recognizes the RevCAR epitope through glycine and serine residues, resulting in a small sized molecule (<60 kDa) with two binding sites. The IgG4-based RevTM connects the same scFv-structures but in this case through the hinge and constant Fc regions (CH2 and CH3) of an IgG4 antibody. The formation of disulfide bridges on the hinge portion causes the formation of homodimers, resulting in a molecule with increased molecular weight (160 kDa) with a total of four binding sites. The generation of diverse RevTMs formats is of interest because their structures influence their half-life, biodistribution and killing efficiency, which are important features when it comes to adapting and customizing patient therapy using the RevCAR system.
We herein demonstrate that both scFv- and IgG4-based RevTMs can bind, on the one hand to CEA expressing cells, and on the other hand to engineered T cells expressing the RevCAR epitopes. Similarly, we confirmed that the simultaneous binding of the RevTMs to the RevCAR T cells and the CEA expressing cells promotes a specific lysis of the target cells in vitro, together with the secretion of pro-inflammatory cytokines. Additionally, we validated that CEA expressing cells are effectively eradicated by RevCAR T cells on the presence of RevTMs in vivo. Hereby, we proved that the RevCAR system can be directed to target CEA expressing cells using RevTMs with different formats, which encourages its further development as a future treatment option for solid tumors.

Precession-driven flows are considered as potential sources of dynamo action on Earth, ancient moon, and some asteroids. At the Helmholtz-Zentrum Dresden-Rossendorf (HZDR), a precession-driven dynamo experiment is now being constructed as part of the DRESDYN project. It is a cylinder filled with liquid sodium with a radius of 1 m and a height of 2 m. The cylinder rotates at a frequency of up to 10 Hz and precesses around the second axis at a rate of up to 1 Hz.
To gain a better understanding of the hydrodynamics of a precessing cylinder, a downscaled 1:6 water mockup with the same aspect ratio, rotation, and precession frequency was built. The typical non-axisymmetric Kelvin mode, which initially increases as the precession ratio increases, is alone not suitable for dynamo action in the experiment. However, a secondary axisymmetric mode that appears in a narrow region of the precession ratio was demonstrated to be particularly promising for dynamo action in the sodium experiment.
To predict dynamo behavior for different precession ratios and precession angles, a thorough understanding of the flow structure in the precessing cylindrical vessel is required. For that purpose, we performed a series of precession measurements on the downscaled water experiment with Ultrasonic Doppler velocimetry (UDV) at various precession angles of 60o, 75o, and 90o. We present the effect of precession angle and rotation direction (i.e. prograde or retrograde) on the dominant flow modes, and quantify this behaviour in dependence on the rotation rate, which is parameterized by the Reynolds number Re = ΩcR2/ν, and the precession ratio Po = Ωp/Ωc, where ν is the viscosity and Ωp = 2πfp is the angular frequency of the precession. The experimental results are compared with numerical simulations.

Precession-driven flows are discussed as possible sources for dynamo action in the Earth [1], the ancient moon, and in some asteroids. A precession-driven dynamo experiment is currently under construction at Helmholtz-Zentrum Dresden-Rossendorf (HZDR) as part of the DRESDYN project. It consists of a liquid sodium filled cylinder with a radius of 1 m and a height of 2 m. The cylinder rotates at a frequency of up to 10 Hz and precesses at a frequency of up to 1 Hz around the second axis [2].
A downscaled 1:6 water mockup with the same aspect ratio and rotation and precession frequencies was developed to better understand the hydrodynamics in a precessing cylinder. The typical non-axisymmetric Kelvin mode, which initially increases as the precession ratio increases, is alone not suitable for dynamo action in the experiment. However, a secondary axisymmetric mode that appears in a narrow region of the precession ratio was demonstrated to be particularly promising for dynamo action in the sodium experiment [3].
To be able to anticipate dynamo behaviour for various precession ratios and precession angles, a complete understanding of the flow structure in the precessing cylindrical vessel is required. For that purpose, we conducted a series of precession measurements using Ultrasonic Doppler velocimetry (UDV) on the downscaled water experiment at various precession angles of 60o, 75o, and 90o. We present the effect of precession angle and rotation direction (i.e. prograde or retrograde) on the dominant flow modes, and quantify this behaviour in dependence on the rotation rate, which is parameterized by the Reynolds number Re = ΩcR2/ν, and the precession ratio Po = Ωp/Ωc, where ν is the viscosity and Ωp = 2πfp is the angular frequency of the precession. The experimental results are compared with numerical simulations [4].

Nuclear magnetic resonance (NMR) spectroscopy is a powerful method for both structure elucidation of molecules and their metal complexes, and also for studying their behavior in terms of thermodynamics and kinetics, as well as reactions occurring in situ in dependence on a variety of physico-chemical parameters. In this context, NMR spectroscopy of aqueous (D₂O) solutions features some peculiarities. That is, first and foremost, the pH (pD) of the solution affects the speciation of both the molecule (ligand) and the metal ion (actinide or lanthanide) under study. Furthermore, the ligand can be subject to deuteration, and either component can undergo redox reactions.

The intracellularly occurring tripeptide glutathione (GSH) constitutes a redox equilibrium with its oxidized (dimeric) form glutathione disulfide (GSSG). Hexavalent uranium, U(VI), forms complexes with the latter over a wide pH range, while GSH reduces U(VI) to U(IV). However, the redox reaction occurs only between pH 6 and 10, i.e. close to the thiol group’s pK_a, presumably due to homolytic cleavage of the S–H group in GSH’s cysteine residue. The redox reaction appears to take place intermolecularly without the need for U(VI) complexation by the reductant [1, 2].
Uranyl(VI) citrate dimeric and trimeric complexes exhibit interesting structural and (¹⁷O) NMR spectroscopic features such as superstructure formation upon varying pH or concentration, and polarization of uranyl units acting as Lewis base in metal ion coordination (O=U=O⟶Mⁿ⁺) [3, 4]. Irradation of uranyl(VI) citrate by visible light yields complexes of lower valent uranium. The reaction again occurs intermolecularly, whereby in situ oxidation of excessive ligand through several intermediates can be comprehended by NMR spectroscopy.
In studies investigating the interaction of radionuclides (RNs) with a solid phase in equilibrium with an aqueous phase, the influence of organics on RN retention can be complemented by qualitative and quantitative solution NMR methods by determining their speciation (free, metal ion-bound, oxidized) and concentration in the supernatant.
NMR spectroscopy can also be utilized as a robust and elegant method for determining ligand’s pK_a along with the originating site of the abstracted proton as shown for GSH/GSSG, 2-phosphonobutane-1,2,4-tricarboxylic acid (PBTC), as well as nitrilotriacetate (NTA) and ethylene glycol-bis(aminoethyl ether)-N,N,N’,N’-tetraacetic acid (EGTA) [5]. The latter two, being representatives of the so-called complexones, show Lewis acid-catalyzed in situ deuteration of the N acetyl methylene groups in NaOD media, which is applied for speciation analyses in artificial body fluids by means of ²H NMR spectroscopy as the only deuterated component.

Acknowledgement
This research received funding by the German Federal Ministry for Economic Affairs and Energy (BMWi) with-in the GRaZ II projects, nos. 02E11860B and 02E11860G, the German Federal Ministry of Education and Research (BMBF) within the RADEKOR project, no. 02NUK057A, as well as by the European Union’s Horizon 2020 research and innovation programme’s CORI project, no. 847593.

References
[1] Kretzschmar, J.; Haubitz, T.; et al. Chem. Commun., 2018, 54, 8697.
[2] Kretzschmar, J.; Strobel, A.; et al. Inorg. Chem., 2020, 59, 4244.
[3] Kretzschmar, J.; Tsushima, S.; et al. Chem. Commun., 2020, 56, 13133.
[4] Kretzschmar, J.; Tsushima, S.; et al. Inorg. Chem., 2021, 60, 7998.
[5] Kretzschmar, J.; Wollenberg, A.; et al. Molecules, 2022, 27, 4067.

Precession driven flows are potential drivers for dynamo action in the Earth [1], the ancient moon, and some asteroids. As part of the DRESDYN project at Helmholtz-Zentrum Dresden-Rossendorf (HZDR) a precession-driven dynamo experiment is presently under construction, which consists of a liquid sodium filled cylinder with a radius of 1 m and a height of 2 m respectively. The cylinder rotates with a frequency of up to 10 Hz and precess around the second axis with a frequency of up to 1 Hz [2].
To understand the hydrodynamics in a precessing cylinder a downscaled 1:6 water mockup was built with the same aspect ratio and rotation frequencies. The typical non-axisymmetric Kelvin mode that grows as the precession ratio rises is alone not suitable for dynamo action in the experiment. However, a secondary axisymmetric mode that emerges in a small region of the precession ratio was shown to be very promising for dynamo action in the sodium experiment [3].
The ability to predict dynamo behaviour for different precession ratios and precession angles requires a thorough understanding of the flow structure in the precessing cylindrical vessel. Consequently, we have performed series of precession measurements with Ultrasonic flow velocimetry (UDV) on the downscaled water experiment with various precession angles α at 60o, 75o, 90o [4]. In this paper, we present the effect of precession angle and rotation direction (i.e. prograde or retrograde) on the dominant flow modes, and quantify this behaviour in dependence of the rotation rate parameterized by the Reynolds number Re = ΩcR2/ν and the precession ratio Po = Ωp/Ωc, with ν the viscosity and Ωp = 2πfp the angular frequency of the precession. We have not taken into account the effect of the precession angle, which changes the definition of Reynolds number. The experimental results are supported by numerical simulations.

Oceanic archives are contemporary witnesses of Earth's recent astrophysical history by incorporating extraterrestrial radionuclides. VA13/2 - 237KD is one of the most studied ferromanganese crusts and it has been shown that the crust contains live interstellar 60Fe. Here, we have characterized a large piece of this crust with a 3D optical scan, a micro-CT scan and 3D modeling, followed by the chemical extraction of highly purified, element-specific fractions for accelerator mass spectrometry. High-accuracy cosmogenic 10Be dating of two independent drill-holes showed a time-dependent variability in growth rate across the surface of the crust. This well-characterized crust is used to search for interstellar radionuclides, such as supernova-produced 60Fe and the r-process nuclide 244Pu. Other extraterrestrial radionuclides including 26Al, 53Mn,
129I, 182Hf or 247Cm could be investigated in the future.

The redox reaction between natural Fe-containing clay minerals and its sorbates is a fundamental process controlling the cycles of carbon, nutrients, and inorganic as well as organic pollutants in Earth’s critical zone. While the structure of natural clay minerals under oxic conditions is well known, this is not true for anoxic conditions, thereby impeding a full understanding of the mechanisms of clay-driven redox reactions especially under reducing conditions. Here we investigate the structure of an Fe-rich natural clay mineral, nontronite, under different redox conditions, and compare several methods for the determination of iron redox states. Nontronite was gradually reduced chemically with the Citrate-Bicarbonate-Dithionite (CBD) method. All methods used to determine the Fe redox state, i.e. 57Fe Mössbauer spectrometry, X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS), X-ray absorption near edge structure (XANES) spectroscopy including its pre-edge, extended X-ray absorption fine structure (EXAFS) spectroscopy, and mediated electrochemical oxidation and reduction (MEO/MER), provided consistent Fe(II)/Fe(III) ratios. By combining X-ray diffraction (XRD) and Transmission electron microscopy (TEM), we show that the long-range structure of nontronite at the highest obtained reduction degree of 44% is not different from that of fully oxidized nontronite except for a slight basal plane dissolution on the external surfaces. The short-range order probed by EXAFS spectroscopy suggests, however, an increasing structural disorder and Fe clustering with increasing reduction of structural Fe.

The lecture summarizes our recent activities to establish a self-consistent planetary synchronization model for short-, medium- and long-term cycles of the solar dynamo.

The lecture gives an overview about the various flow phenomena which can occur in liquid metal batteries, including the Tayler instability, thermal and solutal convection, electrovortex flows, metal pad roll instabilities, and various surface waves. For some of those cases, surprising links to corresponding effects with relevance to the solar dynamo are also discussed.

The first part of the lecture gives an overview about our recent efforts to set-up a self-consistent planetary synchronization model for short-, medium- and long-term cycles of the solar dynamo. In the second part, we discuss the scientific background and the present status of the preparations of the precession-driven dynamo experiment in frame of the DRESDYN project.

Samples analyzed here included Pt0 (TR), PtIIS (HR), PtIVS2 (TR), K2PtIICl4 (HR+TR), K2PtIVCl6 (HR+TR), PtIVO2 (HR+TR), C6H12N2O4PtII (HR+TR), and aqueous solutions of K2PtIICl4 and H2PtIVCl6 (NR+TR), as well as (NH4)2PtIV(S5)3 (HR+TR). XANES spectra in HERFD mode offer a better energy resolution than in conventional modes, allowing a more accurate identification of Pt redox state and coordination geometry. EXAFS spectra in all three modes for a given com-pound yield identical within errors values of Pt-neighbor interatomic distances and mean square relative displacement (MSRD, σ²) parameters. In contrast, both TR and NR spectra on one hand and HR spectra on the other hand yield distinct amplitude reduction factor (S02) values, 0.76 ± 0.04 and 0.99 ± 0.07 (1 standard error), respectively. This study contributes to the development of an open-access XAS database SSHADE.

Nach einem ersten Überblick über die typischen Klimavariationen auf verschiedenen Zeitskalen beschäftigt sich der Vortrag hauptsächlich mit den physikalischen Mechanismen sowie der Abschätzung der Intensität solarer und anthropener Einflüsse auf das Klima. Zur Erklärung der Perioden der grundlegenden Zyklen des Sonnenmagnetfeldes wird ein modifiziertes Dynamomodell unter Einbeziehung der von den Planeten auf die Sonne ausgeübten Kräfte vorgestellt. Das präzessionsgetriebene Dynamoexperiment im Rahmen des DRESDYN-Projektes wird im allgemeinen Kontext mechanisch getriggerter bzw. beeinflusster Dynamos diskutiert.

Monoclinic 𝛽-Ga2O3 is chemically and thermally the most stable compound
compared to its other polymorphs. It is a promising semiconductor
material for power electronics, optoelectronics, and batteries.
However, controlling the metastable polymorph phases is challenging,
and the fabrication technology at the nanoscale is immature. Our goal
is to understand and control the polymorph conversion, so we can establish
new fabrication methods of single-phase polymorph coatings,
buried layers, multilayers, and different nanostructures in gallium oxide.

Under ion beam irradiation, most semiconductors show transformation
from crystalline to amorphous structure due to ion beam induced
damage. However, it is observed that, this transformation is
suppressed in gallium oxide, and a polymorph conversion is observed
instead. Here, we use Gallium and Neon focused ion beams (FIB) from
different sources (GFIS, LMIS) to create local strain and induce the
polymorph transition. After irradiation, characterization of the exposed
areas was conducted by electron backscatter diffraction (EBSD)
and atomic force microscopy (AFM). First results indicate that the
strain created by the FIB irradiation leads to a local transformation
of beta gallium oxide to another polymorph.

The talk commemorates the various contributions of Karl-Heinz Rädler to the preparation and interpretation of liquid-metal dynamo experiments.

After an introduction about the various interactions between the flows of electrically conducting fluids with magnetic fields, including the homogeneous dynamo effect and the celebrated magnetorotational instability in accretion disks, the talk continuous with an overview about previous liquid metal experiments dedicated to the laboratory demonstration of both effects. The main part of the lecture is concerned with the large-sale liquid sodium experiments that are planned in the framework of the DRESDYN project.

The lecture starts with an introduction about the various interactions between the flows of electrically conducting fluids with magnetic fields, including the homogeneous dynamo effect and the celebrated magnetorotational instability in accretion disks. It continuous with an overview about previous liquid metal experiments dedicated to the laboratory demonstration of both effects, and concludes with an outlook on the large-sale liquid sodium experiments that are planned in the framework of the DRESDYN project.

Epidermal growth factor receptors (EGFR) of tyrosine kinase (TK) have shown high expression levels in most cancers and are considered a promising target for cancer diagnosis and therapy. Expanding the investigation for novel targeted radiopharmaceuticals, an EGFR inhibitor such as 4-aminoquinazoline derivatives along with a radionuclide such as technetium-99m (99mTc) could be ideal. Thus, we report herein the synthesis, characterization, and biological evaluation of new “4 + 1” mixed-ligand ReIII- and 99mTcIII-complexes of the general formula [99mTc][Tc(NS3)(CN-R)] bearing tris(2-mercaptoethyl)-amine (NS3) as the tetradentate tripodal ligand and a series of isocyanide derivatives (CN-R) of tyrosine kinase inhibitor (3-bromophenyl)quinazoline-4,6-diamine as the monodentate ligand. The quinazoline isocyanide derivatives 4a-d were prepared in two steps and reacted with the [Re(NS3)PMe2Ph] precursor leading to the final complexes 5a-d in high yield. All compounds were characterized by elemental analysis, IR, and NMR spectroscopies. In vitro studies, for their potency to inhibit the cell growth, using intact A431 cells indicate that the quinazoline derivatives 4a-d and the Re complexes 5a-d significantly inhibit the A431 cell growth. In addition, the EGFR autophosphorylation study of complex 5b shows an IC50 value in the nanomolar range. The corresponding “4 + 1” 99mTc-complexes 6a-d were prepared by employing the [99mTc]TcEDTA intermediate and the appropriate monodentate 4a-d in a two-step synthetic procedure with a radiochemical yield (RCY) from 63 to 77 % and a radiochemical purity (RCP) > 99 % after HPLC purification. Their structures have been established by HPLC comparative studies using the well-characterized Re-complexes 5a-d as reference. All 99mTc-complexes remain stable for at least 6 h, and their logD7.4 values confirmed their anticipated lipophilic character. Biodistribution studies in healthy Swiss albino mice of 99mTc-complexes showed hepatobiliary excretion and initial fast blood clearance. Complex 6b was also tested in Albino SCID mice bearing A431 tumors and showed rapid tumor uptake at 5 min (2.80 % ID/g) with a moderate tumor/muscle ratio (2.06) at 4 h p.i. The results encourage further investigation for this type of 99mTc-complexes as single-photon emission computed tomography (SPECT) radio agents for imaging tumors overexpressing EGFR. © 2022 Elsevier Ltd

Air quality regulations have reduced emissions of pollutants in the U.S., but many prognostic studies suggest that future air quality might be degraded by global climate change. The simulated climate by various climate models shows a large variation in the future decades, and it is important to account for such variations to study future air quality. We have developed a machine learning (ML) based air quality model to study, in an efficient way, how future air quality might be influenced by climate change. Our ML model uses two-phase random forest to predict the O3 and PM2.5 concentrations with training datasets of key meteorological information and air quality pollutant emissions. To evaluate the model performance, we used the input datasets for the U.S. Environmental Protection Agent (EPA) the Community Multiscale Air Quality Modeling System (CMAQ) simulations and compared our model predictions against the CMAQ output as a benchmark. The ML model is well performed for hourly O3 predictions over the whole domain in four selected months (January, February, July, and August), and the R2 values are in 0.5 – 0.7, the normalized mean bias (NMB) values are within ±3%, the overall normalized mean error (NME) values are below 20%. Predicting PM2.5 is more challenging than predicting O3, but our ML model performance is still acceptable. The overall R2 values of PM2.5 predictions are in 0.4 – 0.6, and the NMB values are within ±6%, but the NME can be up to 60%. Our ML model with GPU acceleration runs less than one hour using a single GPU processor to predict 11-year one-month (total 11 months) simulations. It uses significantly less computing resources compared to the 3D models, like CMAQ, while it results in comparable predictability to CMAQ. It shows that our ML model a reliable and efficient tool to assess the air quality under various climate change scenarios.

We report on terahertz high-harmonic generation in a Dirac semimetal as a function of the driving-pulse
ellipticity and on a theoretical study of the field-driven intraband kinetics of massless Dirac fermions. Very
efficient control of the third-harmonic yield and polarization state is achieved in electron-doped Cd 3 As 2 thin films
at room temperature. The observed tunability is understood as resulting from terahertz-field-driven intraband
kinetics of the Dirac fermions. Our study paves the way for exploiting the nonlinear optical properties of Dirac
matter for applications in signal processing and optical communications

The effect of the nutation angle on the flow inside a precessing cylinder is experimentally explored and compared with numerical simulations. The focus is laid on the typical breakdown of the directly forced m = 1 Kelvin mode for increasing precession ratio (Poincaré number), and the accompanying transition between a laminar and turbulent flow. Compared to the reference case with a 90° nutation angle, prograde rotation leads to an earlier breakdown, while in the retrograde case the forced mode continues to exist also for higher Poincaré numbers. Depending largely on the occurrence and intensity of an axisymmetric double-roll mode, a kinematic dynamo study reveals a sensitive dependence of the self-excitation condition on the nutation angle and the Poincaré number. Optimal dynamo conditions are found for 90° angle which, however, might shift to slightly retrograde precession for higher Reynolds numbers.

Magnetic fields are key ingredients for heating the solar corona to temperatures of several million Kelvin. A particularly important region with respect to this is the so-called magnetic canopy below the corona, where sound and Alfvén waves have roughly the same speed and can, therefore, easily transform into each other. We present the results of an Alfvén-wave experiment with liquid rubidium carried out in a pulsed field of up to 63 T. At the critical point of 54 T, where the speeds of Alfvén waves and sound coincide, a new 4 kHz signal appears in addition to the externally excited 8 kHz torsional wave. This emergence of an Alfvén wave with a doubled period is in agreement with the theoretical predictions of a parametric resonance between the two wave types. We also present preliminary results from numerical simulations of Alfvén and magneto-sonic waves using a compressible MHD code.

We develop a data-driven forecasting model of COVID-19 for Saxony using autoregressive integrated moving average (ARIMA) and Holt’s models in the presence and absence of seasonal parameters. Owing to a daily-updated data curation facility, we employ a version control of daily-updated data for Saxony which serve as training data of seasonal parameter to forecast up to 4 horizons. We find that this method is capable of immediately estimating inflection points after a turning point is present. The results are also compatible with the counties of Saxony. We also tried to use multiple datasets (including infection, death, recovery, vaccination data) to train a random forest machine learning model. The preliminary result looks promising and further exploration will be done.

Der Terahertz-Frequenzbereich umfasst ein technisch wenig erschlossenes Grenzgebiet im elektromagnetischen Spektrum. Es ist aber besonders interessant, weil es viele Eigenfrequenzen verschiedener, komplexer Quantenphänomene enthält. Teil 2 widmet sich den Dirac-Materialien wie Graphen und topologischen Isolatoren, die extrem stark mit Terahertz-Feldern wechselwirken.

We generalize Biggs Theorem to the case of directed cycles of multi-digraphs allowing to compute the dimension of the directed cycle space independently of the graph representation with linear runtime complexity. By considering two-dimensional CW complex of elementary cycles and deriving formulas for the Betti numbers of the associated cellular homology groups, we extend the list of representation independent topological inavariants measuring the graph structure. We prove the computation of the 2nd Betti number to be sharp #P hard in general and present specific representation invariant sub-fillings yielding efficiently computable homology groups. Finally, we suggest how to use the provided structural measures to shed new light on graph theoretical problems as graph embeddings, discrete Morse theory and graph clustering.

Two-dimensional conjugated metal-organic frameworks (2D c-MOFs) have attracted increasing interests for (opto)-electronics and spintronics. They generally consist of van der Waals stacked layers and exhibit layer-depended electronic properties. While considerable efforts have been made to regulate the charge transport within a layer, precise control of electronic coupling between layers has not yet been achieved. Herein, we report a strategy to precisely tune interlayer charge transport in 2D c-MOFs via side-chain induced control of the layer spacing. We design hexaiminotriindole ligands allowing programmed functionalization with tailored alkyl chains (HATI_CX, X = 1,3,4; X refers to the carbon numbers of the alkyl chains) for the synthesis of semiconducting Ni3(HATI_CX)2. The layer spacing of these MOFs can be precisely varied from 3.40 to 3.70 Å, leading to widened band gap, suppressed carrier mobilities, and significant improvement of the Seebeck coefficient. With this demonstration, we further achieve a record-high thermoelectric power factor of 68 ± 3 nW m−1 K−2 in Ni3(HATI_C3)2, superior to the reported holes-dominated MOFs.

Magnetorotational instability (MRI) is considered as the most likely mechanism driving angular
momentum transport in astrophysical disks. However, despite many efforts, a direct and conclusive
experimental evidence of MRI in laboratory is still missing. Recently, performing 1D linear analysis
of the standard version of MRI (SMRI) between two rotating coaxial cylinders with an imposed axial
magnetic field, we showed that SMRI can be detected in the upcoming DRESDYN-MRI experiment
based on cylindrical magnetized Taylor-Couette (TC) flow with liquid sodium. In this follow-up
study, being also related to the DRESDYN-MRI experiments, we focus on the nonlinear evolution
and saturation properties of SMRI and analyze its scaling behavior with respect to various param-
eters of the basic TC flow using a pseudo-spectral code. We conduct a detailed analysis over the
extensive ranges of magnetic Reynolds number Rm ∈ [8.5, 37.1], Lundquist number Lu ∈ [1.5, 15.5]
and Reynolds number, Re ∈ [103, 105]. For fixed Rm, we investigate the nonlinear dynamics of
SMRI for small magnetic Prandtl numbers down to P m ∼ O(10−4), aiming ultimately for those
values typical of liquid sodium used in the experiments. In the saturated state, the magnetic en-
ergy of SMRI and associated torque exerted on the cylinders, characterising angular momentum
transport, both increase with Rm for fixed (Lu, Re), while for fixed (Lu, Rm), the magnetic energy
decreases and torque increases with increasing Re. We also study the scaling of the magnetic en-
ergy and torque in the saturated state as a function of Re and find a power law dependence of the
form Re−0.6...−0.5 for the magnetic energy and Re0.4...0.5 for the torque at all sets of (Lu, Rm) and
sufficiently high Re ≥ 4000. We also explore the dependence on Lundquist number and angular
velocity. The scaling laws derived here will be instrumental in the subsequent analysis and com-
parison of numerical results with those obtained from the DRESDYN-MRI experiments in order to
conclusively and unambiguously identify SMRI in laboratory.Magnetorotational instability (MRI) is considered as the most likely mechanism driving angular
momentum transport in astrophysical disks. However, despite many efforts, a direct and conclusive
experimental evidence of MRI in laboratory is still missing. Recently, performing 1D linear analysis
of the standard version of MRI (SMRI) between two rotating coaxial cylinders with an imposed axial
magnetic field, we showed that SMRI can be detected in the upcoming DRESDYN-MRI experiment
based on cylindrical magnetized Taylor-Couette (TC) flow with liquid sodium. In this follow-up
study, being also related to the DRESDYN-MRI experiments, we focus on the nonlinear evolution
and saturation properties of SMRI and analyze its scaling behavior with respect to various param-
eters of the basic TC flow using a pseudo-spectral code. We conduct a detailed analysis over the
extensive ranges of magnetic Reynolds number Rm ∈ [8.5, 37.1], Lundquist number Lu ∈ [1.5, 15.5]
and Reynolds number, Re ∈ [103, 105]. For fixed Rm, we investigate the nonlinear dynamics of
SMRI for small magnetic Prandtl numbers down to P m ∼ O(10−4), aiming ultimately for those
values typical of liquid sodium used in the experiments. In the saturated state, the magnetic en-
ergy of SMRI and associated torque exerted on the cylinders, characterising angular momentum
transport, both increase with Rm for fixed (Lu, Re), while for fixed (Lu, Rm), the magnetic energy
decreases and torque increases with increasing Re. We also study the scaling of the magnetic en-
ergy and torque in the saturated state as a function of Re and find a power law dependence of the
form Re^(−0.6...−0.5) for the magnetic energy and Re^(0.4...0.5) for the torque at all sets of (Lu, Rm) and
sufficiently high Re ≥ 4000. We also explore the dependence on Lundquist number and angular
velocity. The scaling laws derived here will be instrumental in the subsequent analysis and com-
parison of numerical results with those obtained from the DRESDYN-MRI experiments in order to
conclusively and unambiguously identify SMRI in laboratory.

The transition between the stable base state of the magnetized spherical Couette (MSC) flow and the return flow instability is experimentally investigated. The experiments are conducted using an MSC setup consisting of insulating spheres with the ratio of the inner to the outer radii ri/ro = 0.5, Reynolds number Re = 1000 and Hartmann number Ha ∈ [25, 29]. The transition is characterized by changes in the power spectra of the azimuthal modes in the flow as Ha is dynamically changed. The transition occurs in the interval Ha ∈ [26.5, 27.5]. The evolution of the power spectra of the azimuthal modes exhibits hysteretic effect depending on whether Ha is increased or decreased within the experimental interval. The power spectra in the azimuthal modes m ∈ {3, 4} increases and remains dominant as Ha is increased, while the power spectra in m ∈ {2, 4} are dominant while the flow is time dependent due to return flow instability as Ha is decreased.

Snow as an environmental memory is mostly known only in relation to substances from the air, such as dust or pollen in the ice sheets or glaciers. But earlier studies, among them from Russia and Canada, suggest that snow could also act as an environmental memory for gases from the ground (Taivalkoski et al. 2019). Hence, could snow even possibly be used as catchment media for signals from bedrock? This would require that elements as well as hydrocarbons are released from the bedrock, and migrated through the overlying transported cover, often glacial sediments, as ions or gases and are eventually captured by the snow. Of course, the expected element concentrations in snow are very low, especially for snow that exists for only one winter season. But snow as a sampling material would have the great advantage that the sampling and analytical methods have almost no impact on the environment.
In order to investigate whether snow could be used as an environmental memory in relation to the geological subsurface, and thus also for the detection of mineralization, snow was sampled within the framework of the EU project NEXT (New Exploration Technologies, Grant Agreement...) with regard to two questions: 1) Are the measured concentrations evaluable with regard to environmental properties, i.e., can they be measured reliably enough at all? and 2) does the element composition in the snow change significantly with changes in the bedrock lithologies, independent of soil properties?

This poster gives a small overview of the investigations on sorption on plagioclases (Ca-feldspars). The topic is of main importance to find an suitable final radioactive waste repository.
The surface of the minerals was characterzied with zeta potenzial. Batch sorption experiments were conducted to gain information about the sorption of the lanthanide Eu3+ and actinide Am3+. Time resolved laser induced spectroscopy was applied to understand the sorption on a molecular level. All these data were then used for a surface complexation model, that will be used for simulation of the sorption of actinides at different geochemical conditions.

Das Wissen über den Transport von Radionukliden in der Umwelt ist essenziell zur Beur-teilung der Sicherheit eines radioaktiven Endlagers. Einen globalen Konsens bildet zurzeit die tiefengeologische Lagerung, da diese verspricht den Abfall über geologische Zeiträume von der Biosphäre zu isolieren. In einigen Ländern, u. a. Deutschland wird Kristallingestein, welches sich neben Quarz und Glimmern vorwiegend aus Feldspäten zusammensetzt, als mögliches Wirtsgestein für ein tiefengeologisches Endlager betrachtet. Deshalb ist es von enormer Bedeutung, die Rückhaltung der dreiwertigen minoren Actinide (Cm, Am), welche über Jahrtausende die Radiotoxizität im Endlager dominieren an Feldspäte zu verstehen. In dieser Studie wurden speziell Ca-Feldspäte betrachtet, da deren Retentionsverhalten noch nicht ausreichend untersucht wurde, aber Unterschiede in Kristallstruktur und Gitterladung im Vergleich zum besser untersuchten K-Feldspat auftreten.
Zunächst wurden Zetapotenzial-Messungen von Ca-Feldspäten mit verschiedenen Ca-Anteilen durchgeführt. Sie zeigen einen ungewöhnlichen Anstieg der Oberflächenladung bei pH 4 – 7, wobei der Anstieg des Zetapotenzials mit steigender Ca-Konzentration im Kris-tallgitter des Feldspats zunimmt. Dies wird durch die Sorption von Ca2+ und AlDas Wissen über den Transport von Radionukliden in der Umwelt ist essenziell zur Beur-teilung der Sicherheit eines radioaktiven Endlagers. Einen globalen Konsens bildet zurzeit die tiefengeologische Lagerung, da diese verspricht den Abfall über geologische Zeiträume von der Biosphäre zu isolieren. In einigen Ländern, u. a. Deutschland wird Kristallingestein, welches sich neben Quarz und Glimmern vorwiegend aus Feldspäten zusammensetzt, als mögliches Wirtsgestein für ein tiefengeologisches Endlager betrachtet. Deshalb ist es von enormer Bedeutung, die Rückhaltung der dreiwertigen minoren Actinide (Cm, Am), welche über Jahrtausende die Radiotoxizität im Endlager dominieren an Feldspäte zu verstehen. In dieser Studie wurden speziell Ca-Feldspäte betrachtet, da deren Retentionsverhalten noch nicht ausreichend untersucht wurde, aber Unterschiede in Kristallstruktur und Gitterladung im Vergleich zum besser untersuchten K-Feldspat auftreten.
Zunächst wurden Zetapotenzial-Messungen von Ca-Feldspäten mit verschiedenen Ca-Anteilen durchgeführt. Sie zeigen einen ungewöhnlichen Anstieg der Oberflächenladung bei pH 4 – 7, wobei der Anstieg des Zetapotenzials mit steigender Ca-Konzentration im Kris-tallgitter des Feldspats zunimmt. Dies wird durch die Sorption von Ca2+ und Al3+ und/oder Ausfällung einer Al-Phase verursacht.[1]
Im Vergleich zum K-Feldspat treten nur geringe Unterschiede im Rückhaltevermögen und in der Oberflächenspeziation auf. Ca-Feldspäte zeigen ein leicht höheres Rückhaltevermö-gen gegenüber dreiwertigen Metallionen. Ein innersphärischer (IS) Oberflächenkomplex so-wie dessen zwei Hydrolyseformen wurden an beiden Mineralen identifiziert, allerdings tritt die Hydrolyse des IS-Komplexes an Ca-Feldspäten bereits bei niedrigeren pH-Werten auf.[1,2]
Batchsorptionsdaten und spektroskopische Informationen wurden schließlich kombiniert, um ein Oberflächenkomplexierungsmodell zu entwickeln und die Bildungskonstanten der drei Oberflächenkomplexe zu bestimmen (log K0 = -8,37; -10,81 bzw. -16,35). Diese Werte un-terscheiden sich nur unwesentlich von den Werten für K-Feldspat. [1,2]
Die gewonnenen Daten stehen für Transportsimulationen für die Sicherheitsbeurteilung eines potenziellen Endlagers für radioaktiven Abfall zur Verfügung.
und/oder Ausfällung einer Al-Phase verursacht.[1]
Im Vergleich zum K-Feldspat treten nur geringe Unterschiede im Rückhaltevermögen und in der Oberflächenspeziation auf. Ca-Feldspäte zeigen ein leicht höheres Rückhaltevermö-gen gegenüber dreiwertigen Metallionen. Ein innersphärischer (IS) Oberflächenkomplex so-wie dessen zwei Hydrolyseformen wurden an beiden Mineralen identifiziert, allerdings tritt die Hydrolyse des IS-Komplexes an Ca-Feldspäten bereits bei niedrigeren pH-Werten auf.[1,2]
Batchsorptionsdaten und spektroskopische Informationen wurden schließlich kombiniert, um ein Oberflächenkomplexierungsmodell zu entwickeln und die Bildungskonstanten der drei Oberflächenkomplexe zu bestimmen (log K0 = -8,37; -10,81 bzw. -16,35). Diese Werte un-terscheiden sich nur unwesentlich von den Werten für K-Feldspat. [1,2]
Die gewonnenen Daten stehen für Transportsimulationen für die Sicherheitsbeurteilung eines potenziellen Endlagers für radioaktiven Abfall zur Verfügung.
Referenzen:
[1] Neumann and Lessing et al., in preparation. [2] J. Neumann et al., J. Colloid Interface Sci., 2021, 591, 490–499.

Non-technical summary. As we consider a transition to a low-carbon future, there is a need to examine the mineral needs for
this transformation at a scale reminiscent of the Green Revolution. The efficiency gains of the agrarian transition came at
ecological and social costs that should provide important lessons about future metal sourcing. We present three options for a
Mineral Revolution: status quo, incremental adaption and revolutionary change. We argue that a sustainable Mineral
Revolution requires a paradigm shift that considers wellbeing as a purpose and focuses on preserving natural capital.
Technical summary. As we consider a transition to a low-carbon future, there is a need to examine the mineral needs for this
transformation at a scale reminiscent of the Green Revolution. The efficiency gains of the agrarian transition came at
ecological and social costs that can also provide important lessons about the Mineral Revolution. We lay out some of the key
ways in which such a mineral revolution can be delineated over temporal scales in a paradigm shift that considers wellbeing
as a purpose and focuses on preserving natural capital. These prospects are conceptually presented as three pathways that
consider the status quo, incremental adaption and revolutionary change as a means of planning more effectively for a lowcarbon
transition. Social media summary. Sourcing metals sustainably will require to consider wellbeing as a purpose and to
preserve natural capital.

Influence of the competition of Al on the retention of trivalent actinides and their homologues in orthoclase
J. Lessing,1 M. Schmidt,1 T. Stumpf1
1 Helmholtz-Zentrum Dresden-Rossendorf e.V., Institute of Resource Ecology, Bautzner Landstraße 400,
01328 Dresden, Germany, email: j.lessing@hzdr.de

Most countries worldwide consider disposal in a deep geological formation as the safest concept for nuclear waste disposal. For a realistic safety assessment of such a repository, understanding the mechanisms of the prevalent retention processes is of utmost importance. Sorption of radio-active elements on many minerals is well described in literature, but there is a lack of data re-garding the influence of other natural cations especially Al3+ [1]. These cations will be present in all scenarios as Al3+ is the third most common element (following O and Si) in the earth crust, and will occur locally e.g. due to the dissolution of minerals (especially alumino-silicates). Its concentration can be expected to exceed that of the actinides manifold. In addition to competi-tion for sorption site, Al3+ can then also re-precipitate on a primary mineral’s surface and form a secondary phase, which will impact the interaction of the radionuclides with these minerals.
Alumino-silicates, such as feldspars (orthoclase) and mica, together with quartz are the main components of crystalline rock, which is considered as possible host rock for radioactive waste repositories. The other common option are clay formations, which also consist of alumino-silicate minerals. The retention of trivalent actinides by feldspars was already investigated thor-oughly [2,3]. The minor actinides (Np, Am, and Cm) as well as plutonium dominate the radio-toxicity of spent nuclear fuel over geological time scales. Am and Cm are predominantly triva-lent in aqueous solution and Pu is also expected to occur at least partly in its trivalent state, due to the expected reducing conditions in deep geological formations. The less radiotoxic lantha-nide Eu3+ is often used as homologue for the trivalent actinides with excellent luminescence properties.
Here, we study the effect of dissolved Al3+ on the retention of trivalent actinides (Cm3+) and lan-thanides (Eu3+) on orthoclase. The quantitative effect of different [Al3+] on actinide retention was first evaluated in batch sorption experiments using Eu3+ as an analogue. For further analysis on a molecular level, time resolved laser spectroscopy (TRLFS) was applied, from which infor-mation about the formed surfaces complexes can be gained. We will discuss the results with re-spect to the impact of Al3+ on quantity and speciation of An3+ sorption on feldspars.
The derived speciation and quantitative retention data is foreseen to be implemented into a sur-face complexation model, with parameters available in thermodynamic databases. Ultimately this will provide a better understanding of the fundamental mechanisms of sorption process of the minor actinides Am and Cm on naturally occurring mineral phases under close to natural conditions.

Results on modeling and simulation of flotation processes obtained by groups of Helmholtz-Zentrum Dresden-Rossendorf and Helmholtz Institute Freiberg for Resource Technologygroups are shown. These comprise a flotation kinetic model based on the multilayer structure and van der Waals interactions, and a hydrodynamic model using the Eularian multiphase framework. Unfortunately, a full validation of the combined model for data from a real flotation system was not possible yet due to numerical stability issues.

This talk presents openPMD, an open and F.A.I.R. standard for particle-mesh data, and its impact in heterogeneous scientific workflows.
Particle accelerator codes need to span various time and length scales, leading to data processing pipelines consisting of multiple heterogeneous codes.
Standardization of physical data helps bridging the different models with a commonly-understood markup, creating interoperable and flexible workflows.

The openPMD standard is made accessible to scientific software via the openPMD-api, a library for the description of scientific data.
The backend implementations of the openPMD-api are based on established I/O framworks such as HDF5 and ADIOS2, and also include a scalable streaming backend for HPC workflows, provided by ADIOS2.
The talk gives an insight into the existing ecosystem of openPMD and describes the basic concepts of the data markup.

It shortly illuminates recent trends in large-scale I/O and their impact on scientific compute workflows. While traditional attempts at counteracting such trends, e.g. through compression, remain available in the openPMD-api, we propose loose coupling and online analysis via streaming workflows as a sustainable solution that avoids parallel filesystem bottlenecks.

The understanding of gas-solid-liquid three-phase flow is very importnant for the development of Reflux Flotation Cell. CFD simulations of such flows are feasible even on industrial scales within the Eulerian framework of interpenetrating continua. The performance of the framework, however, relies on the suitability of the closure models to account for phenomena on the scale of individual particles or bubbles, which are not resolved in this approach. To this end, the present work attempts to combine closure relations that were previously established for two-phase gas-liquid and solid-liquid flows. Due to the complexity of the RFC system, CFD-grade data to evaluate the overall closure model for three-phase gas-solid-liquid flows are not available yet. Therefore, comparison is made with a dataset from Rampure et al. [Can. J. Chem. Eng. 81 (2003), 692-706] for a slurry bubble column. Agreement of the combined model with the data is not entirely satisfactory yet. Possible reasons concerning both modeling and experiment are discussed and directions for further research identified.

This talk presents openPMD, an open and F.A.I.R. standard for particle-mesh data, and its impact in Exascale scientific workflows. The openPMD standard is made accessible to scientific software via the openPMD-api, a library for the description of scientific data. It approaches recent challenges posed by hardware heterogeneity by decoupling the data description in domain sciences, such as plasma physics simulations, from concrete implementations in hardware and IO. This concept helps us build a transition path from file-based IO to streaming-based workflows of scientific applications in an HPC environment. The streaming backend is provided by the ADIOS2 framework, developed at Oak Ridge National Laboratory.
This talk discusses two openPMD-based loosely coupled setups to demonstrate flexible applicability and to evaluate performance. In loose coupling, as opposed to tight coupling, two (or more) applications are executed separately, e.g. in individual MPI contexts, yet cooperate by exchanging data. This way, a streaming-based workflow allows for standalone codes instead of tightly-coupled plugins, using a unified streaming-aware API and leveraging high-speed communication infrastructure available in modern compute clusters for massive data exchange.
The presented setups show the potential for a more flexible use of compute resources brought by streaming IO as well as the ability to increase throughput by avoiding filesystem bottlenecks.

In nuclear collisions the incident protons generate a Coulomb field which acts on produced charged particles. The impact of these interactions on charged-pion transverse-mass and rapidity spectra, as well as on pion–pion momentum correlations is investigated in Au + Au collisions at sNN = 2.4 GeV. We show that the low-mt region (mt< 0.2 GeV/c2) can be well described with a Coulomb-modified Boltzmann distribution that also takes changes of the Coulomb field during the expansion of the fireball into account. The observed centrality dependence of the fitted mean Coulomb potential energy deviates strongly from a Apart2/3 scaling, indicating that, next to the fireball, the non-interacting charged spectators have to be taken into account. For the most central collisions, the Coulomb modifications of the HBT source radii are found to be consistent with the potential extracted from the single-pion transverse-mass distributions. This finding suggests that the region of homogeneity obtained from two-pion correlations coincides with the region in which the pions freeze-out. Using the inferred mean-square radius of the charge distribution at freeze-out, we have deduced a baryon density, in fair agreement with values obtained from statistical hadronization model fits to the particle yields. © 2022, The Author(s).

Layered van der Waals crystals host unique properties making them attractive for applications in nanoelectronics, optoelectronics, and sensing. The integration of two-dimensional materials with complementary metal-oxide-semiconductor (CMOS) technology requires controllable n- and p-type doping. In this work, we demonstrate the fabrication of vertical p-n heterojunctions made of p-type tin monoselenide (SnSe) and n-type tin diselenide (SnSe2). The p-n heterojunction is created in a single flake by the NH3-plasma-assisted phase transformation from SnSe2 to SnSe. We show that the transformation rate and crystal quality strongly depend on the plasma parameters like plasma power, temperature, partial pressure, NH3 flow, and duration of plasma treatment. With optimal plasma parameters, the full transformation of SnSe2 flakes to SnSe is achieved within a few seconds. The crystal quality and the topography of the fabricated SnSe-SnSe2 heterostructures are investigated using micro-Raman spectroscopy and cross-sectional transmission electron microscopy. The formation of a p-n junction is verified by current-voltage measurements.

We report on experimental investigations of plasma wave structures in a plasma wakefield acceleration (PWFA) stage which is driven by electron beams from a preceding laser plasma accelerator. Femtosecond optical probing is utilized to allow for direct visualization of the plasma dynamics inside the target. We compare two regimes in which the driver propagates either through an initially neutral gas, or a preformed plasma. In the first case, plasma waves are observed that quickly damp after a few oscillations and are located within a narrow plasma channel ionized by the driver, having about the same transverse size as the plasma wakefield cavities. In contrast, for the latter robust cavities are recorded sustained over many periods. Furthermore, here an elongation of the first cavity is measured, which becomes stronger with increasing driver beam charge. Since the cavity length is linked to the maximum accelerating field strength, this elongation implies an increased field strength. This observation is supported by 3D particle-in-cell simulations performed with PIConGPU. This work can be extended for the investigation of driver depletion by probing at different propagation distances inside the plasma, which is essential for the development of high energy efficiency PWFAs.

Mass transfer in bubbly flows is important in many engineering applications. Simulation of such processes on technical scales is feasible by the Euler-Euler two-fluid model, which relies on suitable closure relations describing interfacial exchange processes. In comparison with the pure fluid dynamics of bubbly flows however, modeling and simulation of bubbly flows including mass transfer is significantly less developed. In particular, previous studies have focused entirely on absorption in upward vertical flows, whereas the present study considers a larger variety of conditions including desorption and counter-current (downward) flow. Suitable experimental data for comparison are available from the classic work of Deckwer et al. [Canadian Journal of Chemical Engineering 56 (1978) 43-55]. In line with previous studies on the co-current absorption cases from that work, a monodisperse approximation is made. In addition, a class method to treat bubble shrinkage and growth is implemented in the OpenFOAM code and tested by showing the crossover between two monodisperse cases.

For radiation protection and chelation therapy, aminopolycarboxylic acids like ethylenedia-minetetraacetic acid (EDTA) or diethylenetriaminepentaacetic acid (DTPA) are clinical approved decorporation agents. They show promising results in complexation of Ln(III)/An(III). For EDTA and DTPA related compound ethylene glycol-bis(β-aminoethyl ether)-N,N,N’,N’-tetraacetic acid (EGTA), complexes with trivalent europium (Eu) have been characterized by NMR spectroscopy and x-ray diffraction. In these complexes, EGTA acts as an octadentate lig-and.[1,2] In addition to this, the knowledge on the Eu-EGTA-system is extended by time-resolved laser-induced fluorescence spectroscopy (TRLFS), ²H-NMR spectroscopy and isother-mal titration calorimetry (ITC). These speciation studies on Eu(III) show promising results for EGTA as a complexing agent (Fig. 1).
To expand this group of ligands, EGTA related compounds were synthesized (Fig. 2). With these compounds, the complexation behavior with Eu(III) and curium(III) were determined and com-prehensively characterized with TRLFS from both sides: the ligands and metals perspective. The overall goal is a better understanding of the influence of the ligand design on the affinity to complex trivalent Ln and An. Hence, in the future these ligands may contribute to an advanced chelation therapy.
This work is funded by the German Federal Ministry of Education and Research (BMBF) under grant number 02NUK057A and part of the joint project RADEKOR.

Over the last century, antibiotics against bacterial infections have led to increased life expectancy and quality of people worldwide. Yet the WHO has brought attention to the increasing resistance development of bacterial pathogens against antibiotics - many bacteria are already multi-resistant. In the search of alternatives to classical antibiotics, nanotechnology and nanoparticles (NP) are moving into the focus of scientific research. Particular attention is paid to the Nano-silver (Ag-NP), which has experienced an immense upswing in recent years and is used in many medical products such as wound dressings or consumer products. However, are Ag-NPs safe for health and environment? To tackle this challenge, conventional methods have been used to explore nanoparticle resistance. Conversely, these methods have proven to be limited in terms of labor, cost, and statistical power. In our work, we intend to overcome these barriers by developing a droplet-based microfluidic analytical platform as a tool to elucidate the impact and biological influence of nanoparticles on living microorganisms with high statistical evaluation and detection efficiency. This method allows the separation of bacteria into single droplets, the generation of individual bioreactors, and the screening of the bacterial metabolism in the presence of Ag-NP.

Zirconia (ZrO2) is the primary corrosion product of the Zircaloy cladding material surrounding nuclear fuel rods [1]. It has also been envisioned as a ceramic host phase for specific high- level waste streams, immobilizing radionuclides and being able to become a protective barrier. In the case of doped ZrO2 matrices, a very high radiation tolerance has been reported, however, discrepancies exist regarding the role of the different structural polymorphs in the high radiation resistance. Ce has been used as a surrogate for Pu due to comparable chemical properties in the oxidation states +III and +IV, similar ionic radius, and its easier handling [2]. In the current study, phase transformations occurring in the ZrO2 material when doped with Ce(IV) and Gd(III), have been explored.

Ongoing Japan-Germany research network on actinide chemistry was introduced

We investigate the sustenance and dynamical balances of MRI-turbulence in accretion disks with a zero net magnetic flux. Zero net flux MRI has attracted a great interest in the last decade, because of its importance in MRI-dynamo in disks. It is unique, in the sense that there is no characteristic length-scale for MRI to grow purely exponentially and hence the instability is instead of a subcritical type, being energetically powered by linear nonmodal, or transient growth of perturbations. This transient growth of MRI is not, however, able to ensure a long-term sustenance of the turbulence and necessitates nonlinear feedback replenishing such transiently growing modes. To examine the existence of such a nonlinear feedback and ultimately understand the whole self-sustenance process of MRI-turbulence, we first performed simulations and then a detailed analysis of the turbulence dynamics in Fourier space. We showed that the disk flow shear gives rise to anisotropy of nonlinear processes in Fourier space. As a result, the key nonlinear process for the sustenance appears to be a topologically new type of angular (i.e., over wavevector orientations) redistribution of modes in Fourier space – the nonlinear transverse cascade – in contrast to the well-known direct/inverse cascades in the absence of shear in classical theories of isotropic turbulence. Moreover, the transverse cascade is a generic nonlinear process in different kinds of shear flows. The sustenance of zero net flux MRI-turbulence relies on the interplay between the two basic processes -- linear transient growth of MRI and the nonlinear transverse cascade. They mostly operate at length scales comparable to the box size (disk scale height), which we call the vital area of the turbulence in Fourier space. Base on this self-sustenance scheme we give a physical interpretation of the dependence (sensitivity) of the zero net flux MRI-turbulence with respect to magnetic Prandtl number in terms of competition between transverse and direct cascades.

We investigate the sustenance and dynamical balances of MRI-turbulence in accretion disks with a zero net magnetic flux. Zero net flux MRI has attracted a great interest in the last decade, because of its importance in MRI-dynamo in disks. It is unique, in the sense that there is no characteristic length-scale for MRI to grow purely exponentially and hence the instability is instead of a subcritical type, being energetically powered by linear nonmodal, or transient growth of perturbations. This transient growth of MRI is not, however, able to ensure a long-term sustenance of the turbulence and necessitates nonlinear feedback replenishing such transiently growing modes. To examine the existence of such a nonlinear feedback and ultimately understand the whole self-sustenance process of MRI-turbulence, we first performed simulations and then a detailed analysis of the turbulence dynamics in Fourier space. We showed that the disk flow shear gives rise to anisotropy of nonlinear processes in Fourier space. As a result, the key nonlinear process for the sustenance appears to be a topologically new type of angular (i.e., over wavevector orientations) redistribution of modes in Fourier space – the nonlinear transverse cascade – in contrast to the well-known direct/inverse cascades in the absence of shear in classical theories of isotropic turbulence. Moreover, the transverse cascade is a generic nonlinear process in different kinds of shear flows. The sustenance of zero net flux MRI-turbulence relies on the interplay between the two basic processes -- linear transient growth of MRI and the nonlinear transverse cascade. They mostly operate at length scales comparable to the box size (disk scale height), which we call the vital area of the turbulence in Fourier space. Base on this self-sustenance scheme we give a physical interpretation of the dependence (sensitivity) of the zero net flux MRI-turbulence with respect to magnetic Prandtl number in terms of competition between transverse and direct cascades.

We conduct a linear analysis of axisymmetric magnetorotational instability (MRI) in a magnetized cylindrical Taylor-Couette (TC) flow for its standard version (SMRI) with a purely axial background magnetic field and two additional types—helically modified SMRI (H-SMRI) and helical MRI (HMRI)—in the presence of combined axial and azimuthal magnetic fields. This study is intended as preparatory for upcoming new cutting-edge large-scale liquid sodium MRI experiments planned within the DRESDYN project at Helmholtz-Zentrum Dresden-Rossendorf, so we explore these instability types for typical values of the main parameters: the magnetic Reynolds number, the Lundquist number, and the ratio of the angular velocities of the cylinders, which are attainable in these experiments. In contrast to previous attempts at detecting MRI in the laboratory, our results demonstrate that SMRI and its helically modified version can in principle be detected in the DRESDYN-TC device for the range of the above parameters, including the astrophysically most important Keplerian rotation, despite the extremely small magnetic Prandtl number of liquid sodium. Since in the experiments we plan to approach (H-)SMRI from the previously studied HMRI regime, we characterize the continuous and monotonous transition between these two regimes. We show that H-SMRI, like HMRI, represents an overstability (traveling wave) with nonzero frequency linearly increasing with azimuthal field. Because of its relevance to finite-size flow systems in experiments, we also analyze the absolute form of H-SMRI and compare its growth rate and onset criterion with the convective one.

The effect of large magnetic Prandtl number Pm (the ratio of viscosity to resistivity) on the turbulent transport and energetics of the magnetorotational instability (MRI) is poorly understood, despite the realization of this regime in astrophysical environments as disparate as discs from binary neutron star (BNS) mergers, the inner regions of low-mass X-ray binaries and active galactic nuclei, and the interiors of protoneutron stars. We investigate the MRI dynamo and associated turbulence in the regime Pm > 1 by carrying out fully compressible, 3D MHD-shearing box simulations using the finite-volume code PLUTO, focusing mostly on the case of Keplerian shear relevant to accretion discs. We find that when the magnetic Reynolds number is kept fixed, the turbulent transport (as parameterized by α, the ratio of stress to thermal pressure) scales with the magnetic Prandtl number as $α ~ Pm^δ$, with $δ ~ 0.5-0.7$ up to $Pm ~ 128$. However, this scaling weakens as the magnetic Reynolds number is increased. Importantly, compared to previous studies, we find a new effect at very large Pm - the turbulent energy and stress begin to plateau, no longer depending on Pm. To understand these results we have carried out a detailed analysis of the turbulent dynamics in Fourier space, focusing on the effect of increasing Pm on the transverse cascade - a key non-linear process induced by the disc shear flow that is responsible for the sustenance of MRI turbulence. Finally, we find that α-Pm scaling is sensitive to the box vertical-to-radial aspect ratio, as well as to the background shear.

The LCLS-II-HE Project at SLAC seeks to increase the photon energy reach of the LCLS-II FEL to at least 20 keV. In addition to upgrading the undulator system, and increasing the electron beam energy to 8 GeV, the project will also construct a low-emittance injector (LEI) in a new tunnel. To achieve the LEI emittance goals, a low-MTE photocathode will be required, as will on-cathode electric fields up to 50% higher than those achievable in the current LCLSII photoinjector.
The beam source for the LEI will be based around a superconducting quarter-wave cavity resonant at 185.7 MHz. A prototype gun is currently being designed and fabricated at the Facility for Rare Isotope Beams (FRIB) at Michigan State University (MSU). This paper presents performance goals for the new gun design, an overview of the prototype development effort, status, and future plans including fabrication of a “production” gun for the LEI.

Superconducting radio-frequency (SRF) electron guns are attractive for delivery of beams at a high bunch repetition rate with a high accelerating field. An SRF gun is the most suitable injector for the high-energy upgrade of the Linac Coherent Light Source (LCLS-II-HE), which will produce high-energy Xrays at high repetition rate. An SRF gun is being developed for LCLS-II-HE as a collaborative effort by FRIB, HZDR, ANL, and SLAC. The cavity operating frequency is 185.7 MHz, and the target accelerating field at the photocathode is 30 MV/m. The photocathode is replaceable. The cathode is held by a fixture ('cathode stalk') that is designed for thermal isolation and particle-free cathode exchange. The stalk must allow for precise alignment of the cathode position, cryogenic or room-temperature cathode operating temperature, and DC bias to inhibit multipacting. We are planning a test of the stalk to confirm that the design meets the requirements for RF power dissipation and biasing. In this presentation, we will describe the cathode stalk design and RF/DC stalk test plan.

Robust spin injection and detection in antiferromagnetic thin films is a prerequisite for the exploration
of antiferromagnetic spin dynamics and the development of nanoscale antiferromagnet-based spintronic applications.
Previous studies have shown spin injection and detection in antiferromagnet/nonmagnetic metal
bilayers; however, spin injection in these systems has been found effective at cryogenic temperatures only.
Here, we experimentally demonstrate sizable interfacial spin transport in a hybrid antiferromagnet/ferromagnet
system, consisting of Cr2O3 and permalloy, which remains robust up to the room temperature. We examine our
experimental data within a spin diffusion model and find evidence for the important role of interfacial magnon
pumping in the signal generation. The results bridge spin-orbitronic phenomena of ferromagnetic metals with
antiferromagnetic spintronics and demonstrate an advancement toward antiferromagnetic spin-torque devices.

We present an experimental and numerical study of three-magnon splitting in a micrometer-sized magnetic disk with the vortex state strongly deformed by static in-plane magnetic fields. Excited with a large enough power at frequency fRF, the primary radial magnon modes of a cylindrical magnetic vortex can decay into secondary azimuthal modes via spontaneous three-magnon splitting. This nonlinear process exhibits selection rules leading to well-defined and distinct frequencies fRF/2±Δf of the secondary modes. Here, we demonstrate that three-magnon splitting in vortices can be significantly modified by deforming the magnetic vortex with in-plane magnetic fields, leading to a much richer three-magnon response. We find that, with increasing field, an additional class of secondary modes is excited which are localized to the highly-flexed regions adjacent to the displaced vortex core. While these modes satisfy the same selection rules of three-magnon splitting, they exhibit a much lower three-magnon threshold power compared to regular secondary modes of a centered vortex. The applied static magnetic fields are small (≃ 10 mT), providing an effective parameter to control the nonlinear spectral response of confined vortices. Our work expands the understanding of nonlinear magnon dynamics in vortices and advertises these for potential neuromorphic applications based on magnons.

Mass transfer in bubbly flows is a field of obvious technological importance. On industrially relevant scales it may be studied by simulations based on the Euler-Euler two-fluid model, which however requires closure models for the interfacial exchange processes. Despite recently increased efforts, modelling of the exchange of mass between the phases is still much less developed than the corresponding exchange of momentum. The present study compares several proposed models for the mass transfer coefficient using a previously established set of closure relations for the purely fluid dynamical part of the problem. A set of experimental data for the absorption of O2 into water in a bubbly mixing layer from the literature is used to assess their relative merits. A model for the pertinent material properties of this system has been assembled from available measurements. A rather sensitive dependence of the amount of absorbed O2 is found on the pressure, which varies with the hydrostatic head above the test section.

Radionuclide migration in clay-rich formations is typically dominated by diffusion considering the low permeability of these formations. An accurate estimation of radionuclide migration in host rocks using numerical tools plays a key role in the safety assessment of disposal concepts for nuclear waste. In the sandy facies of the Opalinus Clay (SF-OPA), the spatial variability of the pore space network and compositional heterogeneity at the pore scale (nm to µm) cause heterogeneous diffusion at the core scale (cm to dm). Such heterogeneous diffusion patterns affect the migration of radionuclides in various sedimentary layers even above the core scale (m). In this work, we study the heterogeneous diffusion of cations based on a two-dimensional (2D) structural model at the m-scale. As key parameters for the diffusive transport calculation, the effective diffusion coefficients in different sedimentary layers are quantified based on our previous developed up-scaling workflow from pore- to core-scale simulation combined with the multi-scale digital rock models. The heterogeneous effective diffusivities are then implemented into the large-scale structural model for diffusive transport simulation using the FEM-based OpenGeoSys-6 simulator. The sensitivity analysis focuses on the effects of the SF-OPA bedding angle and the effect of different layer-succession layout with different canister emplacement on the spatio-temporal evolution of radionuclide diffusion front line. Results show that the moving distance of the diffusion front is farther away from the canister center, along the direction with the neighboring layer having lower diffusion coefficient within the total simulation time of 2000 years. When the bedding angle increases, the diffusion front moves farther in in vertical upward direction direction, which has less retardation effect for the radionuclide from the ground surface point. For different layer-succession layout with different canister emplacement, the smallest migration distance of the diffusion front line is 1.65 m. Within 2000 years, for the conceptual model 2B that the canister is emplaced in the layer with the highest diffusivity coefficient, the diffusion front can migrate 0.19 m farther along vertical downward direction due to the influence of the neighboring layer. The numerical results provide insight into the effects of rocks heterogeneity on diffusion of radionuclides, contributing to enhanced long-term predictability of radionuclide migration in SF-OPA as potential host rock for a deep geological repository.

Transport of liquid through the foam is governed by the mutual effects of capillary, gravitational,
and inertia forces [Koehler, S. A. et. al. (2000)]. This process defines the distribution of liquid in
foam and is essential for industrial applications, e.g. production of polymeric and metal foams,
flotation etc. S. Neethling [Neethling, S. J. (2006)] have shown that sheared foam could not
anymore be considered as an isotropic media, and the direction of a drainage flow distinct from
the sense of a gravity vector. Thus, a non-uniform distribution of liquid in the foam is present.
This effect, for instance, has a major impact on a formation of convective rolls in foam [Heitkam,
S., & Eckert, K. (2021)].

The liquid fraction (Φ) of foam is an important quantity in engineering process control and essentially to interpret foam rheology. Currently available methods are either complex laboratory-based techniques or cannot provide spatial resolution. Therefore, in this work in-situ measurement of the liquid fraction from foam's electrical conductivity [Feitosa, 2005] was studied by employing conductive wire-mesh sensor (WMS) [Prasser, 1998]. Two arrays of wires are placed inside the foam (figure 1) and at each crossing point the local liquid fraction is determined. This approach offers 2D measurement of liquid fraction distribution (figure 1) with very high frame rate. The measurements were validated by simultaneous measurement of liquid fraction by neutron radiography (NR) [Heitkam, 2018].
An systematic dependency between WMS readings and the true liquid fraction from NR is found (figure 1). However, WMS overestimates the liquid fraction systematically, which could be an effect of the liquid bridge formation between the wires.

This work introduces a simple and efficient method to remove the impurities from a protein foam
through washing the foam in a foam fractionation process (figure 1). Since the protein molecules
adsorb irreversibly on the air interface, they do not desorb upon wash water addition and are
transferred to the foam outlet. However, the entrained substances are directed downward by
wash water to the drain outlet together with the liquid. Here, we performed experiments on
bovine serum albumin (BSA), as a model protein and NaCl salt, as a model of soluble impurities.
The experiments were conducted in a glass foam fractionation cell, where the liquid level was
kept constant. The wash water was added on the foam top with different flow rates and BSA and
NaCl concentrations were measured at the outlets for further analysis. The influence of initial
bubble size and the wash water rate on the purification efficiency were investigated. The results
revealed that the wash water displaces the entrained liquid in the foam and reduces the salt
content at the foam outlet. The process shows higher salt removal for higher wash water rates as
well as for foams with larger bubble sizes, where up to 93% of the salt was removed from the
main solution in a steady state process. The washing efficiency is also influenced by air flow
rate. Salt removal is enhanced in principle at lower air flow rates. However, the foam stability
becomes an important issue at smaller air flow rates, since the increased foam collapse
significantly reduces the foam flow to the outlet.

After coarsening and coalescence, foam drainage is one of the processes that dynamically influence foams. It is therefore of general interest to understand it in its principle behaviour. Liquid drainage is typically described by the unsteady, three-dimensional drainage equation [Verbist, 1996]. However, apart from optical observation in a Hele-Shaw cell [Hutzler, 2005], unsteady and multi-dimensional measurement of liquid fraction distribution is scarcely approached. Here, two-dimensional foam drainage experiments and simulations were carried out to validate the horizontal terms of foam drainage equation and to show its limitations. The two-dimensional liquid fraction distribution in steady, dynamic and periodic drainage experiments was measured with neutron radiography [Heitkam, 2018]. In particular, the damping character of the foam drainage was quantified as a function of different frequencies and amplitudes. This yields guidelines for forced-drainage experiments with peristaltic pumps.

This article describes the use of a machine learning based technique
to measure the bubble sizes of foam with small liquid fraction in contact with a
transparent wall. For two different experimental cases images are obtained of foam
in a cylindrical column and labeled with a classical image processing algorithm. An
available neural network based model, initially designed for cell image applications,
is trained and validated to segment the images. When comparing the bubble size
distribution in images found using the trained model with manually segmented images
a good agreement over a large range of diameters can be found. The error of the mean
diameter in both cases lies below 10%, mostly attributed to the failed recognition of
tiny round bubbles in dry foam. The trained model is provided for further usage.

Liquid drainage through foam is driven by gravity, capillary, and, to a lesser extent, viscous forces.
In the of stress on the foam, the liquid distributes uniformly, however, imposed stress changes the
alignment of the foam’s structural elements. Previous numerical simulations [1] predicted that a vertical
drainage flow will be deflected horizontally if the foam is sheared. We investigated such phenomena by
measuring the distribution of liquid fraction within a foam formed in a flat rectangular cell. The foam was
subjected to shear stress under a forced liquid supply at the top of the cell. Two dimensional neutron
radiography images of stress-free and sheared foam were analyzed to extract measurements of liquid
content. Deflections in the distribution of the drainage liquid were detected, and found to be positively
correlated with increasing foam shear. To the best of our knowledge, this is the first experimental
observation of anisotropic drainage in a liquid foam.

Neutron radiography is a useful tool for researching opaque multi phase flow such as foam and froth.

Der Einsatz moderner Meßtechnik kann einen wesentlichen Beitrag für den ressourceneffizienten Betrieb von Anlagen für die Schaumflotation leisten. Insbesondere die Kenntnis der
Stoffzusammensetzung des überströmenden Schaums kann hilfreich für die optimierte Echtzeit-Steuerung des Flotationsprozesses sein. Aufgrund der komplexen und lichtundurchlässigen Struktur der Schaumphase existieren zum heutigen Zeitpunkt allerdings nur wenige Möglichkeiten die Schaumzusammensetzung in Echtzeit und im Volumen zu bestimmen. Zusätzliche Anforderungen an die Robustheit des Maßsystems entstehen aus den rauhen Umgebungsbedingungen in industriellen Anwendungen.

Various physicochemical properties play a decisive role in the evaluation of foods, influencing
taste, odor, texture and mouthfeel when the food is distorted. Therefore, rheological investiga-
tions of foods are used in product development to specifically improve the texture or mouthfeel
of a product. Since mouthfeel describes the physical interaction between the food and various
haptic sensors in the mouth during the chewing and swallowing process, it is advantageous to
perform rheological measurements in geometries and under conditions that reflect the flow
conditions present in the mouth. Up to now, such investigations have been limited primarily to
viscous or lumpy foodstuffs. Here, foam, as a multiphase system consisting of a (highly) vis-
cous liquid and dispersed gas, exhibits complex rheological behavior due to its compressibility.
In addition, the foam undergoes partial destruction of its structure during the swallowing pro-
cess, which can change its rheological properties over time.
For the imaging of the swallowing process, an experimental setup was developed consisting
of a two-dimensional replica of the palate and a movable tongue based on dental impressions.
Foam with different properties such as the mean bubble size and the liquid content or the
degree of polydispersity can be generated. Furthermore, two tongue geometries with different
roughness are available. The flow as well as the deformation of the foam is evaluated by optical
methods such as PIV and particle tracking. The resulting velocity, shear rate and (wall) shear
stress distributions can provide information about the haptic perception in the mouth during the
swallowing process.

Flotation processes are essential processes for resource separation, the monitoring of which can save vast amounts of water and energy. To control them, it is necessary to measure the phase fractions present in the froth. Currently, no suitable measurement method exists that can be easily integrated into the existing process and has a penetration depth of more than 5 cm. Therefore, in this paper we present a measurement system for determining the liquid distribution in foam using ultrasound. To counteract the strong attenuating effect of the foam on the ultrasound, we use low-frequency probes with a center frequency of 135 kHz. Electrodes determine an integral liquid fraction by conductivity measurement. Within a liquid range of 0.17 x 10(exp −2) to 0.82 x 10(exp −2), the measurement system was first calibrated for a penetration depth of 9.2 cm and validated by simultaneous neutron imaging. An absolute and relative measurement uncertainty of 0.23 x 10(exp −2) and 42.5% was the respective result. A resolution of 7.5mm in the axial, 13mm in lateral direction and 1 Hz in time were obtained. In a dynamic inhomogeneous case, the measurement system was additionally validated for a use case. This investigation represents a first step towards process optimization in flotation processes.

Today, the availability of methods for the activity-preserving and cost-efficient downstream processing of enzymes forms a major bottleneck to the use of these valuable tools in technical processes. A promising technology appears to be foam fractionation, which utilizes the adsorption of proteins at a gas–liquid interface. However, the employment of surfactants and the dependency of the applicability on individual properties of the target molecules are considerable drawbacks. Here, we demonstrate that a reversible fusion of the large, surface-active protein Ranaspumin-2 (Rsn-2) to a β-lactamase (Bla) enabled both surfactant-free formation of a stable foam and directed enrichment of the enzyme by the foaming. At the same time, Bla maintained 70% of its catalytic activity, which was in stark contrast to the enzyme without fusion to Rsn-2. Rsn-2 predominantly mediated adsorption. Comparable results were obtained after fusion to the structurally more complex penicillin G acylase (PGA) as the target enzyme. The results indicate that using a surface-active protein as a fusion tag might be the clue to the establishment of foam fractionation as a general method for enzyme downstream processing.

Controlling the pore connectivity of polymer foams is key for most of their applications, ranging from liquid uptake, mechanics, and acoustic/thermal insulation to tissue engineering. Despite their importance, the scientific phenomena governing the pore-opening processes remain poorly understood, requiring tedious trial-and-error procedures for property optimization. This lack of understanding is partly explained by the high complexity of the different interrelated, multiscale processes which take place as the foam transforms from an initially fluid foam into a solid foam. To progress in this field, this work takes inspiration from long-standing research on liquid foams and thin films to develop model experiments in a microfluidic “Thin Film Pressure Balance.” These experiments allow the investigation of isolated thin films under well-controlled environmental conditions reproducing those arising within a foam undergoing cross-linking and drying. Using the example of alginate hydrogel films, the evolution of isolated thin films undergoing gelation and drying is correlated with the evolution of the rheological properties of the same alginate solution in bulk. The overall approach is introduced and a first set of results is presented to propose a starting point for the phenomenological description of the different types of pore-opening processes and the classification of the resulting pore-opening types.

In this study, the specific activities of selected RPV components’ segments (such as the RPV, core barrel, etc.) of a German PWR were calculated with a novel method based on the combined use of two Monte-Carlo codes, MCNP6.2 and FLUKA2021. In the first step, the MCNP6.2 code was used to calculate the neutron fluence rate characteristics (spectrum, distribution, and current entering the segment surfaces) in the studied segment using a 3D detailed reactor model. The neutron fluence rate prediction capability of the MCNP6.2 model has been validated via metal foil-activation measurements carried out in two German PWRs. The validation studies showed that the MCNP6.2 model is reliable and suitable for evaluating the neutron radiation field in the reactor for the ensuing activation calculations. In the second step, the FLUKA2021 code was used to calculate the specific activity distribution in the studied segment using a 3D exact model of the segment and complex source terms built based on the neutron fluence rate parameters calculated using the MCNP6.2 code. The results of the calculations were obtained with great accuracy and evidenced that the used method can serve as a powerful and non-destructive tool for the radiological characterization of the RPV and its internals.

In this study, a 3D detailed Monte-Carlo (MC) model of a German PWR was developed to calculate the neutron fluence characteristics within the ex-vessel components of the reactor. The neutron fluence prediction capability of the developed model was validated based on metal foil-activation measurements. Metal foil-activation measurement has been successfully used in reactor dosimetry for many years. It is an ideal method for collecting information on neutron fluence in an active reactor. This paper gives an overview of the MC model of the reactor and presents the foils activation measurement procedure. Then, the results of the MC simulations and the experimental measurements are presented and discussed.

Rotierende Stoffaustauschmaschinen (engl. „Rotating Packed Beds“, RPBs) sind ein vielversprechender Ansatz, um Trennprozesse effizienter und flexibler zu gestalten. Die durch die Rotation der RPB-Packung wirkenden Zentrifugalkräfte resultieren in hohen Scherraten und damit dünnen Flüssigkeitsfilmen nahezu auf der gesamten Packungsoberfläche, die zu großer effektiver Phasengrenzfläche und hohem volumetrischen Stofftransport führen. Dadurch benötigen RPBs ein drastisch kleineres Packungsvolumen als herkömmliche Trennkolonnen.
Allerdings sind beim Betrieb von RPBs – insbesondere in den äußeren Regionen von isotropen Drahtgestrick- oder Metallschaumpackungen – Phasenfehlverteilungen und lokal geringe Stofftransportraten zu beobachten, die das enorme Intensivierungspotential von RPBs noch limitieren. Daher sind spezielle RPB-Packungsdesigns erforderlich, die gleichmäßige fluiddynamische Bedingungen im gesamten Packungsvolumen ermöglichen.
In dieser Arbeit wird untersucht, ob und wie neu entwickelte Zickzack-Packungen zu einer Homogenisierung der Phasenverteilung in der Packung beitragen können. Dazu wird mithilfe der nicht-invasiven winkelaufgelösten Gammastrahlen-Computertomographie die Phasenverteilung während des rotierenden Betriebs untersucht und anschließend analysiert. Die rekonstruierten Schnittbilder geben einen detaillierten Einblick auf die Flüssigkeitsverteilung innerhalb der Packung bei verschiedenen Betriebsbedingungen. Komplementäre Stofftransportmessungen geben ein verbessertes Verständnis über das Zusammenspiel von Packungsstruktur, Fluiddynamik und Trennleistung.

Population Kinetics for PIC

Standard atomic physics models in PIC simulation either neglect excited states, predict
atomic state population in post processing only, or assume quasi-thermal plasma conditions.

This is no longer sufficient for high-intensity short-pulse laser generated plasmas, due
to their non-equilibrium, transient and non-thermal plasma conditions, which are now becoming
accessible in XFEL experiments at HIBEF (EuropeanXFEL), SACLA (Japan) or at MEC (LCLS/SLAC).
To remedy this, we have developed a new extension for our ParticleInCell simulation
framework PIConGPU to allow us to model atomic population kinetics in situ in PIC-Simulations,
in transient plasmas and without assuming temperatures.
This extension is based on a reduced atomic state model, which is directly coupled to the
existing PIC-simulation and for which the atomic rate equation is solved explicitly in
time, depending on local interaction spectra and with feedback to the host simulation.
This allows us to model de-/excitation and ionization and of ions in transient plasma
conditions, as typically encountered in laser generated plasmas.
This new approach to atomic physics modeling will be very useful in plasma
emission prediction, plasma condition probing with XFELs and better understanding
of isochoric heating processes, since all of these rely on an accurate prediction of
atomic state populations inside transient plasmas.