8 ADVANCED MATERIALS & PROCESSES | MAY/JUNE 2025 ALUMINUM MAPPING IN ZEOLITES Researchers at The Hong Kong Polytechnic University recently discovered the precise location of aluminum atoms in a zeolite framework. Zeolites are crystalline materials widely used in the petrochemical industry that serve as catalysts in chemical production, with aluminum being the source of active sites within zeolite structures. The team believes their discovery could facilitate the design of more efficient catalysts. Zeolites are characterized by a well-defined microporous structure, high surface area, and tunable acidity and basicity, making them indispensable in petrochemical refining, environmental catalysis, and fine chemical synthesis. The distribution of substitutional aluminum atoms within the zeolite TESTING | CHARACTERIZATION STUDYING CORROSION FOR BETTER MATERIALS DESIGN New research at the DOE’s Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory, Calif., is attempting to address the widespread problem of corrosion by predicting failure to enable better materials design. Using a technique that involves advanced kinetic modeling, researchers simulated corrosion processes with both speed and accuracy and identified the effects of operating conditions and material composition. The team focused their simulation efforts on the natural protective oxide film that forms on metals to keep them intact. If the film dissolves, fractures, or becomes permeable to attack, corrosion begins. The scientists developed multiscale simulations that capture how the oxide grows, dissolves, and changes composition over time in response to environmental factors like pH and voltage. But because this approach is too difficult to use for every single material and environment, the team trained a machine learning- inspired model to predict when and why corrosion occurs. With- in this framework, researchers examined three voltage regimes. They noted that the environments with high and low voltages are well studied and understood, while the intermediate regime was more mysterious. “Until now, no one was really able to explain what exactly was going on in that regime,” says scientist Chris Orme. “We showed there is competition between two processes: dissolution and reprecipitation. When molecules leave the surface, mix and redeposit, the oxide looks completely different.” While voltage may be applied directly in some systems, like batteries, the same phenomenon is surprisingly common in other contexts as well. “Putting certain metals close to one another creates a sort of micro- battery that can drive corrosion,” explains researcher Brandon Wood. “This has been a problem in building ships and bridges, for instance. Our model can in principle account for such effects, while also being flexible enough to consider the interplay between the corrosive environment and the base metal composition.” llnl.gov. Testbed 80. Courtesy of Rolls-Royce. The team integrated synchrotron resonant soft x-ray diffraction (pictured), with molecular adsorption methods to reveal the interactions of molecules of aluminum atoms. Courtesy of Hong Kong Polytechnic University. Image of porous nickel oxide, via atomic force microscopy, formed during the dissolutionreprecipitation process. Eurofins EAG Laboratories, Columbia, Mo., opened a 6800-sq-ft microscopy lab in Phoenix to serve the semiconductor, materials science, and advanced technology industries. The lab features TEM imaging and analysis, dual-beam FIB-SEM systems, and complete sample preparation facilities. eag.com. Leica Microsystems, Germany, acquired ATTO-TEC, also in Germany, a supplier of fluorescent dyes and reagents. The specialized sample preparation products complement Leica’s portfolio of microscopy imaging platforms and AI-based analysis software. leica-microsystems.com. BRIEFS
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