You may have noticed that we recently launched a redesigned Rigaku website. If not, please check it out and let us know what you think. In addition to updated navigation, restructured page layouts, and an improved search function, the new website features several hundred application notes and nearly twenty years' worth of Rigaku Journal articles. Unlike in the past, these app notes and articles are presented in their entirety on the website, and you don't have to provide any personal information to access them. Additionally, many product brochures are now instantly available. Please visit the resource hub to access this content, or check out the resources available for the products of interest via the Resources tab on each product page. We have also added links to hundreds of scientific publications that feature Rigaku products or are the results of research involving Rigaku application scientists.
We're still nearly a month from the official beginning of summer in the northern hemisphere but, as June approaches, all eyes turn toward the Atlantic, the source of most hurricanes. Locally, we also keep a watchful eye on the Gulf of Mexico, where hurricanes and tropical storms have been known to spontaneously form. The National Weather Service is bullish on the 2024 season, predicting more storms than ever before. Earlier this month, Houston experienced a rare "derecho" (from the Spanish, meaning "straight") in which non-rotating high-speed winds approaching 100 mph (160 kph) burst through the city, knocking over high-tension power lines, blowing out skyscraper windows, felling trees and damaging houses and other buildings.
Some residences and businesses are still without power. Batteries becomes increasingly important in situations like these so people can continue to use their connected devices. In this issue of The Bridge, you'll find links to a webinar about the use of XRF to analyze batteries nondestructively, a Rigaku Journal article about the use of XRD and machine learning in battery analysis, an application note pertaining to lithium battery recycling and a news item about developments in the promising field of sodium-ion batteries.
All this, plus our featured product, a video about the use of X-ray CT in structural failure analysis, and more. Enjoy!
Upcoming Events
Canadian Chemistry Conference and Exhibition (CSC 2024) | Winnipeg, MB, Canada | Jun 1, 2024 - Jun 5, 2024 |Website
Eurosatory | Paris, France | Jun 16 - 20, 2024 |Website
Webinar: Non-destructive Elemental Analysis of Batteries Using XRF | Register
European Conference on X-ray Spectrometry | Athens, Greece | Jun 23 - 27, 2024 | Visit website
WARRIOR East | Virginia Beach, VA | Jun 24 - 25, 2024 | Website
European X-ray Spectrometry Conference, 24-28 June 2024, Athens, Greece
EXRS 2024, to be held June 24-28 in Athens, Greece, is a premier biennial conference that since 1984 has brought together global experts in X-ray spectrometry and its diverse applications. With keynote lectures, presentations, and an industrial exhibition, it promotes interdisciplinary dialogue in areas such as cultural heritage, biology, and technology. Visit Rigaku at booth #C3 to discuss our latest technologies and solutions.
The tube-below high-performance model enables uncompromised analysis of samples such as liquids, alloys, and plated metals. Providing superior performance with the flexibility for analyzing the most complex samples, the ZSX Primus IV𝒾 WDXRF spectrometer features a 30 micron Be tube window, the thinnest standard tube window in the industry, for exceptional light element (low-Z) detection limits.
ZSX Primus IV𝒾 - New addition to the Rigaku Europe lab, Germany
Located at Rigaku Europe's headquarters in Neu-Isenburg, Germany, our laboratory is renowned for its cutting-edge technology and world-class services across a wide range of industries. The new ZSX Primus IV𝒾 expands our capabilities with advanced features for precise and efficient on-site measurements, providing customers with comprehensive and reliable analysis.
It features fast vacuum/helium transitions, reduced helium consumption, 18% better efficiency, and a Digital Multi-Channel Analyzer (D-MCA) for increased accuracy and speed. The optical system ensures precise analysis, and additional features include a high-resolution camera, SQX software for easy elemental composition determination, and automatic wire cleaning for uninterrupted performance.
We host demonstrations and conduct method development based on your sample types.
How can broken or defective structural elements, such as cracks, pores, or incorrect shapes, lead to product failure?
In this episode, we will define what structural failure is and discuss how it manifests in materials and designed parts in the form of cracks, pores, etc. We will also review where failure analysis is used in various industries and research areas and what could go wrong if it is neglected. This episode explores examples of structural failure analysis using X-ray CT.
April 22, 2024: A research team at KAIST has developed a high-energy, high-power hybrid sodium-ion battery capable of rapid charging. This new device surpasses the energy density of commercial lithium-ion batteries and is expected to be suitable for rapid charging applications. It is worth noting that sodium is far more abundant than lithium.
May 22, 2024: Researchers from the University of Cambridge have developed a method to produce very low emission concrete at scale—an innovation that could be transformative in the transition to net zero. The method uses the electrically-powered arc furnaces used for steel recycling to simultaneously recycle cement.
May 22, 2024: Researchers at the University of Liverpool and the University of Southampton have used computational design methods to develop non-metal organic porous framework materials, with potential applications in areas such as catalysis, water capture or hydrogen storage. The new materials offer an alternative to metal-organic frameworks (MOFs), a class of porous, crystalline materials made up of metals connected by organic linker compounds.
May 22, 2024: A joint research team tackled the challenge of balancing packaging performance and sustainability by developing a sustainable, marine biodegradable, high-performance paper coating material. They utilized boric acid-crosslinked poly(vinyl alcohol), a biodegradable plastic, to coat the paper, thereby enhancing its biodegradability, barrier properties, and strength. The resulting coated paper exhibited superior performance compared to conventional plastics, with excellent barrier properties and physical strength, even in humid conditions.
May 22, 2024: Because it has no stable isotopes, promethium (atomic #61) was the last lanthanide to be discovered and has been the most difficult to study. An ORNL-led team of scientists prepared a chemical complex of promethium, enabling its characterization in solution for the first time. They chelated radioactive promethium with diglycolamide ligands. Then, using X-ray spectroscopy, they determined the the length of the promethium chemical bond with neighboring atoms—a longstanding missing piece to the periodic table.
Featured Application Notes
Quality and Process Control Analysis of Natural and Processed Iron Ores by the Pressed Powder Method
For powder samples in X-ray fluorescence spectrometry, the pressed powder method is the best solution in terms of speed and simplicity. Since iron ores have complex matrices owing to their varied mineral compositions, appropriate corrections for these matrix effects are required in XRF analysis. This note demonstrates an improved method to determine total iron in natural and processed iron ores by the pressed powder method using the newZSX Primus III NEXT.
Analysis of Black Mass for Lithium Battery Recycling
Applied Rigaku Technologies
At end-of-life, the batteries can be recycled to ensure a sustainable, environmentally friendly use of the raw materials. The devices are collected, disassembled, and the batteries are then shredded and ground. During the process, the plastics are separated and removed leaving a powder called black mass, rich in the cathode metals Co, Mn and Ni, base metals Cu, Fe and Al, as well as the graphite from the anode. Recovering and repurposing the metals reduces the need to mine fresh raw materials and allows for a sustainable circular economy in the lithium battery industry. Rigaku offers the NEX QC+ QuantEZ EDXRF analyzer for the analysis of black mass during the recycling and recovery of the raw materials to make new, fresh batteries.
Utilization of X-ray Diffraction Data in Machine-learning Based Material Exploration for All-solid-state Lithium Batteries
by Kota Suzuki, Masaaki Hirayama, and Ryoji Kanno
In recent years, research has been conducted toward the realization of an all-solid-state lithium battery, in which the organic electrolyte is replaced with a solid lithium conductor. All-solid-state lithium batteries would give rise to the possibility of all battery components being made from crystalline materials; therefore, the importance of phase identification and crystal structure analyses by X-ray diffraction (XRD) measurements will increase.
In this technical note, we introduce XRD measurements and explore how the data can be used in the search for materials related to all-solid-state batteries, along with examples of our own research.
Did you know you can non-destructively analyze the elemental composition of various battery components using the X-ray fluorescence (XRF) technique?
XRF does not require the digestion of samples. You can analyze powder and solid samples with minimal to no sample preparation and gain their elemental composition ranging in levels from ppm to percent. Wavelength dispersive XRF (WDXRF) spectrometers can be analyzed from beryllium to curium. The fundamental parameter method enables standardless semi-quantitative analysis, while the conventional calibration method using standards can provide more accurate results, depending on the accuracy requirements.
XRF is ideal for quantifying the main elements of NCM (nickel, cobalt, and manganese) in the cathode, as well as impurities or foreign materials in coatings and carbon cathodes. Appropriate sample preparation methods allow air and humidity-sensitive materials to be analyzed easily.
In this webinar, you will learn how to prepare different types of battery samples for WDXRF elemental analysis and see various application examples.
Even if nothing is clearly broken, some parts in a product can be slightly misaligned or deteriorate in its function. These problems can eventually cause product failure. The shorting of a circuit and deteriorated battery life are examples of such functional failure.
In this episode, we will define what a functional failure is and review how you can use X-ray CT to characterize various defects that can cause diminished or loss of function. Oftentimes, a material or product will exhibit diminished or partial loss of function before it becomes inoperative. Understanding why and how these initial problems occur is as important as understanding complete failure because it helps us understand the mechanisms of failures and improve manufacturing and production processes. This episode will explore examples of functional failure analysis using X-ray CT.
The Opioid Matrix is a podcast for anyone looking for the latest information in the illegal drug supply chain—beginning to end. Each episode will feature a discussion with industry experts about the current opioid crisis, including drug trafficking, drug manufacturing, drug identification, drug addiction, as well as the role of government, law enforcement, new health and social programs, and more.
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