A universal structural deformation in all heme proteins EPFL NEWS - 2020 The structure-function relationship is at the heart of biology: specific structural changes in proteins are usually associated with specific functions. This is particularly the case with hemoproteins, which have a wide range of functions, such as oxygen fixation and transport, and neurotransmission. Find out more
Charge mobility in perovskites: a new insight EPFL NEWS - 2021 Understanding charge mobility of the very popular lead-halide perovskite materials is crucial for their very promising photovoltaic applications. Using Time-Resolved X-ray spectroscopy, the structural deformations affecting the charge mobility, which plays a central role in solar energy conversion, have been identified and quantified with atomic precision – for the first time. Find out more
Swiss Science Concentrates – A CHIMIA Column CHIMIA 2021, 75, No. 10 “The authors elegantly illustrate that photoinduced lattice changes in the system are due to a specific polaronic distortion, associated with the activation of a longitudinal optical phonon mode, and show that carrier recombination reversibly unlocks structural deformation at both Br and Pb sites. These results provide a thorough description of the CsPbBr3 perovskite’s photophysics, offering novel insights on the light-induced response of the system.” Find out more
Cover - Journal of the American Chemical Society Volume 143, Issue 24, pages 8949-9276 Light activation of lead-halide perovskites induces polaronic lattice distortions, here quantified with atomic-level precision. Electron-phonon coupling drives the crystal changes, which are unlocked upon charge-carrier recombination and in the absence of thermal effects. This study clarifies the structure-property relationships in out-of-equilibrium conditions, underpinning the developments of perovskite-based devices. Find out more
Cover - Structural Dynamics Volume 6, Issue 6, 064303 Most chemical and biochemical reactions in nature and in industrial processes are driven by thermal effects that bring the reactants above the energy barrier for reaction. In aqueous solutions, this process can also be triggered by the laser driven temperature jump (T-jump) method, in which the water vibrational (stretch, bend, or combination) modes are excited by a short laser pulse, leading to a temperature increase in the irradiated volume within a few picoseconds. Find out more
5232 - The magazine of the Paul Scherrer Institute Fast-paced action How do colored solar cells work and what is behind them the new brilliant mobile phone displays? The ultra-short X-ray pulses at SwissFEL cover the chemical reactions inside and should make the devices even more efficient and cheaper. Find out more View in issuu.com
Prof. Giulia Fulvia Mancini and Dr. Charles Bevis join a second beamtime in ultrafast imaging science at the DiProI beamline, FERMI.
Giulia Fulvia Mancini wins the 2021 Young Scientist Prize in Optics for her “contributions to imaging and scattering of nanostructured materials using high- harmonic soft X-ray sources and research on extreme ultraviolet imaging". Find out more
The Lausanne Centre for Ultrafast Science (LACUS) at the École Polytechnique Fédérale de Lausanne (EPFL) welcomed LUXEM graduate students C. Grova and S. Restelli for Beamtime LACUS002824 funded by LASERLAB EUROPE. Find out more
Optical Monolithic Tables are delivered and installed in the Lab while infrastructure upgrades progress to host the new ultrafast laser system!
Department of Physics
University of Pavia
Via Agostino Bassi 6, 27100 Pavia, PV
