Scientific Events

IPAM Workshop: Bridging the Gap - Transitioning from Deterministic to Stochastic Interaction Modeling in Electrochemistry

IPAM Workshop on Electochemistry
Organised by: Jörg Neugebauer (Max-Planck-Institut for Sustainable Materials), Juergen Fuhrmann (Weierstraß-Institut für Angewandte Analysis und Stochastik (WIAS)), Richard Hennig (University of Florida), Mauro Maggioni (John Hopkins University)Keith Promislow (Michigan State University), Katsuyo Thornton (University of Michigan)Bilge Yildiz (Massachusetts Institute of Technology) [more]

Closing metal loops sustainably - opportunities & challenges for a successful circular economy

Colloquia Series on Sustainable Metallurgy
Metals are essential for climate and digital technologies, making resource-efficient use and high-quality recycling across their entire lifecycle crucial. This lecture explores the role of recycling in a true circular economy, highlighting the need for clear system definitions, realistic expectations, and coordinated processes to recover valuable materials sustainably and effectively. [more]

Precision Epitaxy in Nanocrystalline Thin Films: Defect‑Tailored Platforms for Electrocatalysis

Topological defects—dislocations, grain boundaries, and related features—play an essential role in determining the properties of crystalline materials. When crystallite or functional domain sizes shrink to the nanometer scale, these defects become dominant. To date, however, neither bottom‑up nor top‑down synthesis has provided a reliable means of controlling them. Here, we demonstrate delicate control over shell epitaxy on nanocrystals within thin films, producing three‑dimensionally organized nanocrystallites with uniform grain boundaries and associated defects. In these structures, the resulting 3D‑patterned strain field can be mapped with atomic precision and tuned to introduce targeted dislocations or disclinations. Using multiscale crystallography and spectroscopy, we show that the uniformity and discreteness of these defects provide a clear correlation between local structure and collective electrochemical performance—specifically, catalytic activity in oxygen evolution and reduction reactions. Finally, we outline how this nanocrystallite‑engineering approach is guiding the design of next‑generation functional materials for energy nanotechnology [more]

Big data microscopy: Machine learning-driven statistical characterization of shape evolution in nanoparticle growth

Understanding the geometry of nanomaterials at the atomic scale provides critical insights into local structural heterogeneities and their impact on functional properties. Since shapes vary from particle to particle, detailed analysis at the single-particle level is essential. In this talk, I will present a high-throughput pipeline that integrates deep learning-based segmentation with quantitative shape analysis of individual nanoparticles from high-resolution transmission electron microscopy (HRTEM) images. First, I will describe the application of convolutional neural networks (CNNs) to segment 727 HRTEM micrographs of cubic Co3O4 nanoparticles, enabling the extraction of shape descriptors from 441,067 particles. This automated workflow allows for population-wide statistical characterization, bridging local structural detail with large-scale analysis. Second, I will present a size-resolved shape analysis at subnanometer precision, highlighting a critical threshold, “onset radius”, that marks transitions in particle shape, such as surface faceting and a shift from thermodynamic to kinetic growth regimes. This bottom-up approach illustrates how machine learning and data-driven analysis can reveal previously unquantified trends, offering a generalizable framework for high-throughput materials characterization. [more]

Mechanics and physics of fracture - Minisymposium @ ESMC2025

Mechanics and physics of fracture
  • Start: Jul 7, 2025
  • End: Jul 11, 2025
  • Location: Lyon, France
Organisers : Véronique Lazarus (ENSTA Paris), Erik Bitzek (MPI-SusMat) and Matteo Ciccoti (ESPCI, Paris) [more]

Manipulating Structural Integrity of Pre-Cracked Thin Metallic Sheets through Electric Current Pulsing

Recent studies have shown that the passage of an electric current pulse may both propagate [1,2] and close a crack and heal a metallic material [3]. Specifically, experiments on thin Al foils containing edge cracks have proved that the self-induced electromagnetic forces, spontaneously generated upon passage of an electric current across a crack in a sample, alone could cause crack propagation without melting of the crack tip [1]. The critical current density required for crack propagation reduces in the presence of an external magnetic field [4] as well as mechanical load [5]. On the other hand, if an electric current pulse of large pulse width is passed through an electrically and thermally resistive material, such as stainless steel, containing a short crack, the crack may completely close, and the material can heal through the solid-state diffusion bonding process [3]. Here, we discuss the reasons behind crack propagation upon application of electric current and then explore the mechanics as well as microstructural attributes responsible for a transition from flaw propagation to flaw healing upon passage of an electric current pulse. Furthermore, the recovery of the mechanical properties of the material upon electric current-induced healing will also be discussed. [more]

Interface and Grain Boundary Effects on Thermal, Electrical and Magnetic Properties

Defects and Grain boundaries have a remarkable effect on the thermal and electrical transport properties of polycrystalline materials but are often ignored by prevailing physical theories. The concentration of point defects can be altered with phase boundary mapping considering the defect thermodynamics. Thus, the properties can be engineered with careful processing control. Grain boundaries and interfaces can adversely alter the thermal and electrical properties of Power Electronics, Solar Cells, Batteries, Thermoelectrics and permanent magnets such as interfacial electrical and thermal resistance (Kapitza resistance). Interfacial thermal resistance limits the performance of power electronics because of overheating. New scanning thermal reflectance techniques can image the thermal resistance of interfaces and boundaries directly. The Thermal conductivity suppression at grain boundaries can even be imaged showing that different grain boundaries can have very different thermal resistances with high energy grain boundaries having more resistance and low energy boundaries having lower thermal resistance. Interfaces and grain boundaries are 2-dimensional thermodynamic phases (complexions) that have distinct energy, composition and properties that can be rigorously described using the Gibbs excess formalism. The common thermodynamic quantities of temperature and chemical potential connects the complexions to the 3-D phases allowing a phase boundary mapping of grain boundary and interface properties similar to that for point defects. [more]
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