TY - CONF A1 - Booth, A. T1 - Production of a 1-10 μm polypropylene reference material for development of analytical methods N2 - The poster is about the preparation of microplastics in the size range of 1-10 µm. These size range of particles can be inhalded and therefore be toxic for humans. The preparation is done by comminution of PP pellets and sieving. Characterisation occured for size with laser diffraction, for type with FTIR and for shape with SEM. T2 - SETAC Europe 2025 CY - Vienna, Austria DA - 11.05.2025 KW - Microplastics KW - Reference materials PY - 2025 AN - OPUS4-63367 LA - eng AD - Bundesanstalt fuer Materialforschung und -pruefung (BAM), Berlin, Germany ER - TY - CONF A1 - Drago, C A1 - Wiesner, Yosri A1 - Braun, U A1 - Giovannozi, A A1 - Fadda, M A1 - Putzu, Mara A1 - Lorenzo, S A1 - Moscoso-Pérez, C A1 - Benismail, N A1 - Palma, C A1 - Almeida, J A1 - Mattarozzi, M A1 - Barbaresi, M A1 - Piergiovanni, M A1 - Masino, M A1 - Bianchi, F A1 - Careri, M A1 - v Bavel, B A1 - Maltseva, A A1 - Sillanpää, M A1 - Pröfrock, D A1 - Wippermann, D A1 - Altmann, Korinna T1 - Harmonisation of sample preparation for microplastic analysis: Recovery rates of tablets containing microplastics as reference material for food and environmental matrix N2 - Microplastic are found ubiquitarians in the environment and food products. Up to now, their impact of risks on health and environment is still controversially discussed, but based on the precautionary principle alone, their presence should be monitored and emission should be reduced (see here also the status of existing EU regulations ). The crucial point is not only the reduction of microplastics pollution but also the introduction of legally binding, standardized procedures for their analysis. The limited availability of certified reference material as well as absence of standard operating procedures to identify, characterize and quantify microplastics according to number and mass have generated lack of comparability between different analytical methods and laboratories; but also, the need of time-consuming development of own protocols for each laboratory. Further on, harmonisation and standardisation of microplastics analysis requires specific reference materials that are used to validate the measurement and to ensure the comparability of results. In the first step, we developed tablets of a water-soluble matrix, containing defined numbers of microplastic particles or mass contents. These can be solved in water and can be handled as reference materials in bottled drinking water without additional sample preparation. These samples can be measured, using mass-based methods as thermo-analytical methods like thermal desorption-gas chromatography-mass spectrometry (TED-GC/MS) or pyrolysis–gas chromatography–mass spectrometry (Py-GC/MS) and using umber-based methods as vibrational spectroscopy like Infrared and Raman directly after filtration. The aim of this work was to delevop standard operating procedure to measure microplastics in more complex matrices and to harmonise and compare different detection and characterization methods. In fact, these matrices require different additional treatments to allow a reliable quantification and identification of microplastics. T2 - SETAC Europe 2025 CY - Vienna, Austria DA - 11.05.2025 KW - Microplastics KW - Nanoplastics PY - 2025 AN - OPUS4-63366 LA - eng AD - Bundesanstalt fuer Materialforschung und -pruefung (BAM), Berlin, Germany ER - TY - JOUR A1 - Fadda, Marta A1 - Sacco, Alessio A1 - Altmann, Korinna A1 - Ciornii, Dmitri A1 - Milczewski, Frank A1 - Bañares, Miguel A. A1 - Portela, Raquel A1 - Giovannozzi, Andrea Mario A1 - Rossi, Andrea Mario T1 - Tracking nanoplastics in drinking water: a new frontier with the combination of dielectrophoresis and Raman spectroscopy N2 - Detection of micro- (MPs) and nanoplastics (NPs) in food and environmental matrices has been gaining relevance due to their potential toxicological effects on human health. While MPs have been detected in a wide range of complex matrices, suitable methods for the characterization and chemical identification of NPs are still lacking, primarily due to significant methodological challenges associated with their nano-specific physiochemical properties, including size distribution (1 nm – 1 µm), dynamic surface chemical changes, and carbon-based composition, which complicate their detection compared to engineered nanomaterials. To overcome the traditional limitations of spectroscopic techniques in terms of spatial resolution and sensitivity at the sub-micrometer level, a novel label-free methodology is presented for specifically identifying the chemical composition of NPs directly in suspension by combining Raman spectroscopy with dielectrophoresis (DEP). Using a custom-built device, small volumes of NPs are injected into a dielectrophoretic cell and locally trapped by DEP forces to fill the Raman confocal volume, facilitating their detection and identification, and providing high signal-to-noise ratio Raman spectra for more reliable analysis. This approach was successfully applied to both Milli-Q water and a commercial brand of drinking water, enabling the rapid identification of various types of NPs with different sizes and polymer compositions at concentrations as low as 20 µg/mL. These included certified reference polystyrene beads ranging from 800 to 60 nm in diameter, as well as polydisperse NPs, more representative of real samples in terms of size distribution and polymer type, such as polyethylene (450 nm), polypropylene (180 nm), and polyethylene terephthalate (100 nm). Moreover, the chemical fingerprint of each NPs was thoroughly investigated and compared with the corresponding bulk polymers, highlighting possible changes in the Raman bands due to surface oxidation or nanometer-scale effect. Therefore, this innovative method can be considered a valuable approach for addressing gaps in the detection and identification of NPs, as well as for monitoring their dynamic phisiochemical changes in real matrices. KW - Nanoplastics KW - Water contaminants KW - Raman microspectroscopy KW - Dielectrophoresis PY - 2025 UR - https://nbn-resolving.org/urn:nbn:de:kobv:b43-633658 DO - https://doi.org/10.1186/s43591-025-00131-y SN - 2662-4966 VL - 5 IS - 1 SP - 1 EP - 11 PB - Springer Science and Business Media LLC AN - OPUS4-63365 LA - eng AD - Bundesanstalt fuer Materialforschung und -pruefung (BAM), Berlin, Germany ER - TY - CONF A1 - van den Berg, A. A1 - Adriaans, K. A1 - Hoppener, E. A1 - Parker, L. A1 - Boersma, A. A1 - Altmann, Korinna A1 - Legler, J. A1 - Pieters, R. T1 - Inflammation-related key events stimulated by micro- and nanoplastics N2 - The presence of micro- and nanoplastic particles (MNP) in our environment has raised increasing public and political concern. Increasing evidence suggests that humans are exposed to these MNP, mostly via inhalation or ingestion. The EC-Horizon project POLYRISK (https://polyrisk.science) aims to establish an IATA/AOP-based tiered approach to assess human health risks of MNP. In our research, we focus on assessing immunotoxicological effects of MNP. We have tested a series of primary, secondary, environmentally aged (incubated in River Rine water) and chemically altered MNP for their potential to affect dendritic cells or macrophages. MNP used in this study include primary and weathered PS, secondary PVC, PA, PP (with or without talc) and PE. The secondary PE and PP (w/o talc) particles appeared to have oxidized groups on their surface. Data shows that MNP can be engulfed by macrophages (PMA-stimulated human THP1 cells) and human blood-derived dendritic cells (DCs). The effects of virgin as well as secondary MNP (0, 10 or 100 μg/ml) on THP1 macrophages were limited to decrease of mitochondrial activity (Alamar blue), increase of cellular leakage (LDH), and stimulation of lysosomal activity. None of these MNP stimulated gene expression of NFκB or release of pro-inflammatory cytokines (IL-6, TNFα, IL-1β). On the other hand, secondary PP and PE with oxidized surface groups did increase NFκB gene expression and release of cytokines by THP1 macrophages. Virgin and weathered PS particles were tested using DCs, and only weathered PS did stimulate DC activity (increased costimulatory molecules CD83, CD86) and as consequence allogeneic T cells. DC activation appeared to result from environmental contaminants. In conclusion, of all MNPs tested only those that contained active surface groups or environmental components appeared to be immunostimulatory, whereas primary and secondary MNP rather reduced macrophage activity and viability (at relatively high concentrations of 100 μg/ml). Further research is needed to reveal molecular mechanisms and to translate in vitro findings to real-world exposure scenarios. T2 - 58th Congress of the European Societies of Toxicology (EUROTOX 2024) CY - Copenhagen, Denmark DA - 08.09.2024 KW - Micro- and nanoplastic particles (MNP) KW - Human health risks KW - Immunotoxicological effects PY - 2024 DO - https://doi.org/10.1016/j.toxlet.2024.07.052 AN - OPUS4-63363 LA - eng AD - Bundesanstalt fuer Materialforschung und -pruefung (BAM), Berlin, Germany ER - TY - CONF A1 - Altmann, Korinna T1 - Update from ISO/TC 61/SC14/WG4 N2 - This talk is an update from ISO/TC 61/SC14/WG4. It describes the production of microplastic test material for the use in an interlaboratory comparison. IWe report the first results of an ILC on microplastic detection methods organized under the pre-stantdardisation plattform of VAMAS (www.vamas.org/twa45/) as Project 2 “Development of standardized methodologies for characterisation of microplastics with microscopy and spectroscopy methods”, within the Technical Working Area TWA 45 “Micro and Nano Plastics in the Environment”. The ILC has gathered 84 participants all over the world representing all continents. Reference materials were developed by BAM to test the main methods for MPs detection as addressed in ISO/TR 21960:2020: thermo-analytical methods (Py-GC/MS and TED-GC/MS) and vibrational methods (µ-IR and µ-Raman). As far as the mass fraction is concerned, accurate results with quite a good precision were achieved with the thermo-analytical methods. Number-based results are not adressed here. T2 - ISO/TC 147/SC 2/JWG CY - Online meeting DA - 03.06.2025 KW - Microplastics KW - ILC KW - Reference materials PY - 2025 AN - OPUS4-63340 LA - eng AD - Bundesanstalt fuer Materialforschung und -pruefung (BAM), Berlin, Germany ER - TY - CONF A1 - Resch-Genger, Ute T1 - Standardized Measurements of Surface - Functionalities on Nanoparticles N2 - Engineered nanoparticles (NPs) with various chemical compositions and surface functionalities are routinely fabricated for industrial applications such as medical diagnostics, drug delivery, sensing, catalysis, energy conversion and storage, optoelectronics, and information storage. NP function, interaction with biological species, and environmental fate are largely determined by surface functionalities. Reliable, reproducible, and standardized surface characterization methods are therefore vital for quality control of NPs, and mandatory to meet increasing concerns regarding their safety. Also, industry, international standardization organizations, regulatory agencies, and policymakers need validated and standardized measurement methods and reference materials. However, methodologies for determining NP surface properties, including the amount, chemical composition, and homogeneity of surface functionalities and coatings are largely non-standardized. Suitable methods for determining surface functionalities on ligand-stabilized core and core/shell NPs include advanced techniques such as traceable quantitative nuclear magnetic resonance (qNMR) as well as X-ray electron spectroscopy (XPS) and time of flight secondary ion mass spectrometry (ToF-SIMS), and simpler optical and electrochemical methods. The latter less costly methods are often used by SMEs, e.g., for quality control. To validate methods, establish measurement uncertainties, test reference materials, and produce reference data, international interlaboratory comparisons (ILC) on NP surface functionalization measurements are required and well characterized test and reference nanomaterials providing benchmark values.[1] These needs are addressed by the recently started European metrology project SMURFnano involving 12 partners from different National Metrology Institutes, designated institutes, and research institutes, two university groups as well as one large company and one SME producing NPs. This project as well as first results derived from the development of test and reference materials with a well characterized surface chemistry and ongoing interlaboratory comparisons will be presented. T2 - eMRS CY - Strasbourg, France DA - 27.05.2025 KW - Quality assurance KW - Fluorescence KW - Nano KW - Particle KW - Synthesis KW - Silica KW - Upconversion nanoparticles KW - Optical assay KW - qNMR KW - Surface analysis KW - Ligand KW - Quantification KW - Functional group KW - XPS KW - ToF-SIMS KW - Polymer particle KW - Surface modification KW - Potentiometry KW - Metrology KW - Method KW - Validation KW - ILC PY - 2025 AN - OPUS4-63339 LA - eng AD - Bundesanstalt fuer Materialforschung und -pruefung (BAM), Berlin, Germany ER - TY - CONF A1 - Radnik, Jörg T1 - Reliable analysis of the elemental composition of graphene oxide flakes with energy dispersive spectroscopy (SEM/EDS) and x-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS) N2 - Suspensions of graphene-related 2D materials (GR2M) are broadly used for further applications like printable electronics. The reliable quantification of the composition of graphene-related 2D materials as liquid suspensions is still a challenging task, which can hinder the commercialisation of the products. Specific parameters to be measured are defined, e.g. the oxygen-to-carbon (O/C) concentration ratio, the trace metal impurities, or the functional groups present [1], but reference protocols are still missing. One of the central methods for the quantification is X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS) as a rather expensive method. Therefore, the development of cheaper alternatives is highly desired. One attractive alternative of XPS is energy-dispersive spectroscopy (EDS) which is usually coupled with scanning electron microscopy (SEM). This combination is one of the most widely used methods in analytical laboratories. In this contribution the results of a systematic study on the capability of SEM/EDS to reliably quantify the O/C ratio in a well-defined and well-characterized graphene oxide material [2] are presented. The robustness of the SEM/EDS results obtained at various measurement conditions (various excitation energies) is tested by comparing the results to the established XPS analysis [3], which has been carried out on the same samples. It is demonstrated that for samples prepared by drop-casting on a substrate, both surface-sensitive XPS analysis and bulk-characterising EDS result in very similar elemental composition of oxygen and carbon for thick spots. Further, the effect of untight deposited material enabling co-analysis of the (silicon) substrate, is evaluated for both methods, XPS and EDS. The last results clearly show the influence of the substrate on the analysis of the results and stressed out the importance of the sample preparation. T2 - E-MRS Spring Meeting CY - Strasbourg, France DA - 26.05.2025 KW - Graphene oxide KW - Reliable Analysis KW - Ionic Liquid KW - Reference Material PY - 2025 AN - OPUS4-63336 LA - eng AD - Bundesanstalt fuer Materialforschung und -pruefung (BAM), Berlin, Germany ER - TY - GEN A1 - Habibimarkani, Heydar A1 - Prinz, Carsten A1 - Sahre, Mario A1 - Hodoroaba, Vasile-Dan A1 - Radnik, Jörg T1 - CV, TEM, XRD and XPS/HAXPES datasets of FeNi-based nanoparticles for the oxygen evolution reaction N2 - The datasets from Cyclic Voltammetry, Transmision Electron Microscopy, X-ray Diffraction, and (Hard Energy) X-ray Photoelectron Spectroscopy are related to the publication H. Habibimarkani, S.-L. Abram, A. Guilherme Buzanich, C. Prinz, M. Sahre, V.-D. Hodoroaba and J. Radnik "In-depth analysis of FeNi-based nanoparticles for the oxygen evolution reaction" Scientific Reports (2025), https://doi.org/10.1038/s41598-025-92720-3 Details of the materials and the experimental procedures are described in this publications. KW - Oxygen evolution reaction KW - Fe-Ni nanopartices KW - Comprehensive analysis PY - 2025 DO - https://doi.org/10.5281/zenodo.14975964 PB - Zenodo CY - Geneva AN - OPUS4-63335 LA - eng AD - Bundesanstalt fuer Materialforschung und -pruefung (BAM), Berlin, Germany ER - TY - CONF A1 - Radnik, Jörg T1 - Investigation of Fe-Ni-O nanoparticles for water splitting N2 - This study investigates the effect of varying iron-to-nickel ratios on the catalytic performance of Fe-Ni oxide nanoparticles (NPs) for the oxygen evolution reaction (OER). Addressing the issue of high energy wastage due to large overpotentials in OER, we synthesized and characterized different NP catalysts with different Fe: Ni oxide ratios. Transmission Electron Microscopy (TEM), Energy Dispersive X-ray Spectroscopy (EDS), and X-ray Diffraction (XRD) were employed to determine the morphology, elemental and phase composition of the NPs. Furthermore, in-depth profiling with X-rayPhotoelectron Spectroscopy (XPS) and Hard X-ray Photoelectron Spectroscopy (HAXPES) revealedthat iron predominantly exists as oxide, while nickel exhibits both metallic and oxidic forms depending on the Fe content. XPS indicated an enrichment of iron at the NP surface, whereas HAXPES and EDSdata agreed on the bulk stoichiometry. T2 - PhI European User Meeting 2025 CY - Eibelstadt, Germany DA - 29.04.2025 KW - Oxygen evolution reaction KW - In depth analysis KW - (Hard) X-ray Photoelectron Spectroscopy PY - 2025 AN - OPUS4-63334 LA - eng AD - Bundesanstalt fuer Materialforschung und -pruefung (BAM), Berlin, Germany ER - TY - CONF A1 - Schoenhals, Andreas T1 - The bahvior of inonic liquid crystals as investigated by broadband dielectric spectroscopy and complementary methodas N2 - The behavior of liquid crystals based on phenylbenzoate was investigated using broadband dielectric spectroscopy and advanced calorimetry. The length of the alkyl side chain was systematically varied from 8 to 16 carbon atoms. The experimental results were compared with those obtained from molecular dynamics simulations. T2 - Sympoium: "Dipoles is soft matter - How they move and organize" CY - Leuven, Belgium DA - 06.06.2025 KW - Ionic liquid crystals PY - 2025 AN - OPUS4-63316 LA - eng AD - Bundesanstalt fuer Materialforschung und -pruefung (BAM), Berlin, Germany ER - TY - CONF A1 - George, Janine T1 - Materials design using chemical heuristics, workflows, and machine learning N2 - Bonds and local atomic environments are key descriptors of material properties, used to establish design rules and heuristics, and serve as descriptors in machine-learned interatomic potentials and the general machine learning of material properties. Software implementations such as ChemEnv and LobsterEnv identify local atomic environments based on geometrical characteristics and quantum-chemical bonding analysis (here using Crystal Orbital Hamilton Populations as computed with LOBSTER). Fully automated workflows and analysis tools now enable large-scale quantum-chemical bonding analysis. The first part of the lecture will demonstrate how these tools help develop new machine-learning models and intuitive understandings of material properties. New universal machine-learned interatomic potentials, such as MACE-MP-0, have been developed. The second part of the lecture will showcase how these potentials, combined with DFT, can accelerate research. It will focus on the interplay between DFT and machine-learned interatomic potentials, presenting automated workflows for training, fine-tuning, and benchmarking these potentials, implemented in our software autoplex. Additionally, it will show how to train new interatomic potentials from scratch by exploring potential energy surfaces, with the potential to enhance current universal machine-learned potentials. The lecture will also discuss the trend toward automation in computational materials science and our recent contributions. T2 - FAIRmat Seminar CY - Berlin, Germany DA - 05.06.2025 KW - Automation KW - Machine learning KW - Synthesizability KW - Sustainable materials design KW - High-throughput KW - Bonding analysis KW - Materials acceleration platforms PY - 2025 AN - OPUS4-63315 LA - eng AD - Bundesanstalt fuer Materialforschung und -pruefung (BAM), Berlin, Germany ER - TY - CONF A1 - Falkenhagen, Jana T1 - Challenges of sec and the necessity of round robin tests N2 - Size exclusion chromatography (SEC) is still the method of choice for determining the molar mass and molar mass distribution of macromolecules. From the distribution curve molar mass averages and the oligomer content (percentage of peak area smaller than 1000 g/mol and 500 g/mol) of polymers can be derived. The determination of oligomer content is important, because it is often used in regulatory contexts as a measure of small, mobile and potentially more toxic parts of the polymer. Polymer regulations are of increasing political and societal importance. Regulations often strive for narrow limits. But SEC has rather large error margins of 10-20% for the molar mass determination performed in different laboratories or on different instruments. These variances are well known to all experts and users and have been investigated in several round robin tests in the past. These resulted in DIN and ISO standards which, in our opinion, no longer meet today's requirements. Gaps have been identified that require further harmonization. Different polymer types or classes require different methods. On the other hand, as far as we know, the margins of error in determining oligomer content have not yet been investigated. It is expected that the variation will be rather high. This is because it depends on many factors related to the experimental conditions (column sets used, solvent, temperatures, sample preparation) on the one hand, and the data evaluation mechanisms (choice of baseline and peak limits) on the other. In order to actually measure the error margins and to support this with actual data a round robin test has been performed from June to November 2024 with approx. 40 participating laboratories. Three different solvents were selected, namely THF, DMAc or DMF and water. The samples were selected taking into account a wide range of practical aspects far from narrowly distributed standards: e.g higher distribution range, reduced solubility, included side components, copolymers and dispersions with gel content. In this contribution we will present the detailed concept of this round robin test and impressions T2 - 2025 Polymer Separations GNT meeting, Dow CY - Online meeting DA - 25.02.2025 KW - Polymers KW - Size exclusion chromatography KW - REACH PY - 2025 AN - OPUS4-63314 LA - eng AD - Bundesanstalt fuer Materialforschung und -pruefung (BAM), Berlin, Germany ER - TY - CONF A1 - Falkenhagen, Jana T1 - 70 years size exclusion chromatography - An ongoing challenge N2 - The reason for our current activities is that polymers may also be subject to REACh regulations in the future. In this context, the determination of oligomer content is important. SEC is still the method of choice for determining molar mass distribution. The regulations aim for narrow limits and SEC has rather large error margins, which are well known to all experts. Different polymers need different methods. What to do when samples with a wide range of practical aspects, samples with higher distribution range, reduced solubility, including side components, gel content etc. need be analyzed? A concept for round robin tests and first impressions will be presented. T2 - Analytical Solutions 2025 CY - Ede, Netherlands DA - 04.06.2025 KW - Polymers KW - Size exclusion chromatography KW - REACH KW - Round Robin Tests PY - 2025 AN - OPUS4-63310 LA - eng AD - Bundesanstalt fuer Materialforschung und -pruefung (BAM), Berlin, Germany ER - TY - CONF A1 - Falkenhagen, Jana T1 - Limitations of SEC: Strategies for Improved Regulatory Polymer Analysis N2 - Polymers, composed of repeating units called monomers, exhibit a diverse range of properties, with molecular weight distribution (MWD) being particularly important for regulatory risk assessments. Size exclusion chromatography (SEC), or gel permeation chromatography (GPC), is the primary technique for MWD characterization, as detailed in OECD guidelines 118 and 119, along with DIN and ISO standards. However, SEC faces significant shortcomings that complicate the accurate determination of MWD and oligomer content. These limitations include the insolubility of certain polymers, crosslinking, and ultra-high molecular weight characteristics, which can exceed SEC's separation capabilities. The presence of salts or modifiers can further interfere with oligomer content determination, and the availability of appropriate SEC columns and calibration standards limits comparability across laboratories. To enhance SEC's reliability and applicability within regulatory frameworks, innovative methods and strategies are essential. Proposed solutions involve new sample preparation techniques, advanced data interpretation methods, and the establishment of standardized methodologies to promote harmonization. This is especially crucial in light of the expected Polymer REACh (PREACh) legislation, which aims to regulate polymer registration and risk assessment within the European market. Given the anticipated complexity of the registration process, which requires extensive data generation, proactive strategies are needed to address SEC's challenges. Currently, there are no viable alternatives for oligomer content determination, and the unique properties of polymers often necessitate tailored analytical approaches. Without new methodologies and guidelines, the polymer registration process could become burdensome and costly, jeopardizing important products and markets in the EU. Key areas for improvement include extending existing norms to cover a broader range of solvents, addressing high error margins in oligomer content determination, establishing harmonized approaches for dealing with side components, and providing clarity on measuring partially soluble polymers. In conclusion, addressing SEC's limitations through the development of comprehensive guidelines and harmonization is critical for ensuring accurate and efficient polymer analysis, ultimately facilitating smoother registration processes. T2 - SETAC Europe 35th Annual Meeting CY - Vienna, Austria DA - 11.05.2025 KW - Size exclusion chromatography KW - Polymers KW - REACH PY - 2025 AN - OPUS4-63309 LA - eng AD - Bundesanstalt fuer Materialforschung und -pruefung (BAM), Berlin, Germany ER - TY - CONF A1 - Falkenhagen, Jana T1 - Error margins in the Determination of Molar Mass and Oligomer Content of Polymers N2 - Size exclusion chromatography (SEC) is still the method of choice for determining the molar mass and molar mass distribution of macromolecules. It is a liquid chromatographic technique that separates molecules based on their size, respectively their hydrodynamic volume using a porous stationary phase that allows smaller molecules to pass through the pores while excluding larger molecules. The chromatogram from the size separation can be calibrated using polymers of known molar mass resulting in a relative molar mass distribution curve. From this distribution curve molar mass averages and the oligomer content (percentage of peak area smaller than 1000 g/mol and 500 g/mol) of polymers can be derived. The determination of oligomer content is important, because it is often used in regulatory contexts as a measure of small, mobile and potentially more toxic parts of the polymer. Polymer regulations are of increasing political and social importance. Regulations often set very narrow limits. SEC has rather large error margins of 10-20% for the molar mass determination performed in different laboratories or on different instruments. These variances are well known to all experts and users and have been investigated in several round robin tests in the past. These resulted in DIN and ISO standards which, in our opinion, no longer meet today's requirements. As far as we know, the margins of error in determining oligomer content have not yet been investigated. It is expected that the variation will be rather high. This is because it depends on many factors related to the experimental conditions (column sets used, solvent, temperatures, sample preparation) on the one hand, and the data evaluation mechanisms (choice of baseline and peak limits) on the other. In order to actually measure the error margins and to support this with actual data a round robin test has been performed from June to November 2024 with approx. 40 participating laboratories. Three different solvents were selected, namely THF, DMAc or DMF and water. The samples were selected together with all the experts, taking into account a wide range of practical aspects far from narrowly distributed standards: e.g higher distribution range, reduced solubility, included side components, copolymers and dispersions with gel content. In this contribution we will present the detailed concept of this round robin test and first results. T2 - SETAC Europe 35th Annual Meeting CY - Vienna, Austria DA - 11.05.2025 KW - Size exclusion chromatography KW - REACH KW - Polymers KW - Round Robin Tests PY - 2025 AN - OPUS4-63307 LA - eng AD - Bundesanstalt fuer Materialforschung und -pruefung (BAM), Berlin, Germany ER - TY - JOUR A1 - Nag, Sayak A1 - Bhattacharya, Biswajit A1 - Emmerling, Franziska L. A1 - Ghosh, Soumyajit T1 - Stress and Light-Induced Dual Mechanical Properties of Two 1,3-Dicyanostilbene Derivative Crystals N2 - Dynamic molecular crystals with multistimuli responses hold immense potential for applications as actuators and smart materials. Here, we report two new 1,3-dicyanostilbene derivative crystals (crystals 1 and 2), which exhibit dual mechanical responses. Both crystals 1 and 2 demonstrate stress-induced mechanical flexibility and light-induced photomechanical bending upon exposure to a 375 nm UV LED. These two distinct mechanical responses are associated with different underlying phenomena and are independent of each other. Mechanical flexibility is attributed to the absence of slip planes and a criss-cross packing arrangement in an isotropic structure, while photomechanical bending is ascribed to the formation of a heterogeneous phase distribution due to Z → E photoisomerization. However, they show thermal reversibility, pointing toward a reversible E → Z back isomerization. This study demonstrates that single molecular crystals combining mechanical flexibility and photomechanical bending can be designed and fabricated for developing multistimuli responsive actuators. KW - Photoisomerization KW - Crystal structure KW - Crystals KW - Flexibility KW - Molecules PY - 2025 DO - https://doi.org/10.1021/acs.cgd.5c00097 SN - 1528-7483 SP - 1 EP - 11 PB - American Chemical Society (ACS) AN - OPUS4-63267 LA - eng AD - Bundesanstalt fuer Materialforschung und -pruefung (BAM), Berlin, Germany ER - TY - JOUR A1 - Hemingway, Jack M. A1 - Quayle, Heather M. A1 - Byrne, Cian A1 - Pulham, Colin R. A1 - Mondal, Subrata A1 - Michalchuk, Adam A1 - Morrison, Carole A. T1 - Predicting impact sensitivities for an extended set of energetic materials via the vibrational up-pumping model: Molecular-based structure–property relationships identified N2 - We have applied the vibrational up-pumping model to predict the mechanically-induced impact sensitivities of 33 molecular energetic crystals. Overall, the current model successfully identifies and ranks the compounds that are most sensitive to mechanical initiation, but offers poorer differentiation between compounds with lower sensitivity. Further developments to include the effects of trigger bond activation led to significant improvements in predictive capability. We show that this structure–property model highlights the importance of molecular flexibility in predicting impact sensitivity, and furthermore, we show that the Kier molecular flexibility index, which can be obtained from a SMILES string, offers a simple molecular-based descriptor that goes some way towards predicting the sensitivity of energetic materials. KW - Vibrational KW - Pyrazoles KW - Comprising KW - Electronic PY - 2025 UR - https://nbn-resolving.org/urn:nbn:de:kobv:b43-632651 DO - https://doi.org/10.1039/d5cp00852b SN - 1463-9076 VL - 27 IS - 22 SP - 11640 EP - 11648 PB - Royal Society of Chemistry (RSC) CY - Cambridge AN - OPUS4-63265 LA - eng AD - Bundesanstalt fuer Materialforschung und -pruefung (BAM), Berlin, Germany ER - TY - CONF A1 - Florian, Camilo T1 - Optical thickness-profiling for fs-laserinduced superficial amorphization and oxide removal on silicon N2 - Amorphization and re-crystallization of polished silicon wafers cut in <111> and <100> orientation were studied after irradiation by single Ti:sapphire femtosecond laser pulses (790 nm, 30 fs) using optical imaging, topographic characterization, and transmission electron microscopy. Spectroscopic imaging ellipsometry (SIE) enabled fast data acquisition at multiple wavelengths and provided experimental data for calculating the amorphous layer thickness profiles with lateral resolution in the micrometer and vertical resolution in the nanometer range based on a thin-film layer model including the topmost native oxide. For a radially Gaussian shaped laser beam and at moderate peak laser fluences above the melting but below the ablation threshold, laterally parabolic amorphous layer profiles with maximum thicknesses of some tens of nanometers were quantitatively derived. Moreover, the threshold fluence of the native oxide removal was quantified. At laser peak fluences closely below the ablation threshold of silicon, SIE is capable to reveal even the laser-induced removal and formation of the native oxide covering the Si wafers under ambient air conditions. The accuracy of these all-optical, non-destructive SIE-based layer thickness assessments is verified experimentally through high-resolution transmission electron microscopy (HRTEM) and energy dispersive X-ray spectroscopy (STEM-EDX). Along with topographic information obtained by atomic force microscopy (AFM), a comprehensive picture of the oxide removal and superficial re-solidification of silicon after local melting by femtosecond laser pulses can be drawn. T2 - E-MRS Spring Meeting 2025 CY - Strasbourg, France DA - 26.05.2025 KW - Femtosecond laser KW - Laser-induced amorphization KW - Native oxide layer KW - Spectroscopic imaging ellipsometry KW - Transmission electron microscopy PY - 2025 AN - OPUS4-63275 LA - eng AD - Bundesanstalt fuer Materialforschung und -pruefung (BAM), Berlin, Germany ER - TY - CONF A1 - Gräf, S. T1 - Ion marker implantation for tracing the formation of femtosecond LIPSS on steel N2 - An ion marker experiment is conducted to investigate the formation of low spatial frequency laser-induced periodic surface structures (LIPSS) on stainless steel surfaces upon scan-processing with femtosecond laser pulses (300 fs, 1025 nm, 100 kHz) focussed to a spot diameter of ~20 µm. Defined concentration depth profiles of 14N^+- and 55Mn^+-ions were implanted below the polished surface of a cast Mn- and Si-free stainless steel AISI 316L using an acceleration energy of 380 keV. This generated two distinct “depth-tracer-layers” ~135 nm (55Mn) and ~340 nm (14N) below the sample surface. The sample morphology and microstructure were evaluated before and after LIPSS-processing using scanning and transmission electron microscopy techniques in top-view and cross-sectional geometry. Energy-dispersive X-ray spectroscopy (EDXS) allowed to visualize the depth distribution of the marker elements, the steel constituents, and of oxygen involved through the laser processing in ambient air. These experiments revealed that the LIPSS on this metal are predominantly formed by material removal through locally varying ablation and, to a lesser extent, by local melt displacement effects prior to the re-solidification. Moreover, the processing in air leads to the formation of a less than 10 nm thick laser-induced oxide layer covering the steel surface. Our new tracer ion approach contributes to the ongoing debate on the relevance of electromagnetic or hydrodynamic effects during the formation of LIPSS. T2 - E-MRS Spring Meeting 2025 CY - Strasbourg, France DA - 26.05.2026 KW - Laser-induced periodic surface structures (LIPSS) KW - Steel KW - Ion implantation KW - Transmission electron microscopy (TEM) KW - Energy dispersive X-ray analysis (EDX) PY - 2025 AN - OPUS4-63274 LA - eng AD - Bundesanstalt fuer Materialforschung und -pruefung (BAM), Berlin, Germany ER - TY - CONF A1 - Agudo Jácome, Leonardo T1 - In situ electron-beam 'melting' (sublimation) of gold microparticles in the SEM N2 - Gold micro particles have been modified in the past using the high power density of a localized electron beam of acceleration voltages above 100 kV as an energy source to transform matter at the sub-micron scale in a transmission electron microscope uses. Here, the e-beam-induced transformation of precursor microparticles employing a low-energy e-beam with an acceleration voltage of 30 kV in a scanning electron microscope is implemented. Under these conditions, the technique can be classified between e-beam lithography, where the e-beam is used to mill holes in or grow some different material onto a substrate, and e-beam welding, where matter can be welded together when overcoming the melting phase. Modifying gold microparticles on an amorphous SiOx substrate reveals the dominant role of inelastic electron-matter interaction and subsequent localized heating for the observed melting and vaporization of the precursor microparticles under the electron beam. Monte-Carlo scattering simulations and thermodynamic modeling further support the findings. T2 - IKZ International Fellowship Award & Summer School 2025 from May 5 to 7, 2025 CY - Berlin, Germany DA - 05.05.2025 KW - Gold Nanoparticle KW - Scanning Electron Microscopy KW - In situ irradiation KW - Thermodynamic modelling KW - Heat Transfer PY - 2025 AN - OPUS4-63256 LA - eng AD - Bundesanstalt fuer Materialforschung und -pruefung (BAM), Berlin, Germany ER - TY - CONF A1 - Resch-Genger, Ute T1 - The SMURFnano project - standardized measurements of surface functionalities on nanoparticles N2 - Engineered nanoparticles (NPs) with various chemical compositions and surface functionalities are routinely fabricated for industrial applications such as medical diagnostics, drug delivery, sensing, catalysis, energy conversion and storage, optoelectronics, and information storage. NP function, interaction with biological species, and environmental fate are largely determined by surface functionalities. Reliable, reproducible, and standardized surface characterization methods are therefore vital for quality control of NPs, and mandatory to meet increasing concerns regarding their safety. Also, industry, international standardization organizations, regulatory agencies, and policymakers need validated and standardized measurement methods and reference materials. However, methodologies for determining NP surface properties, including the amount, chemical composition, and homogeneity of surface functionalities and coatings are largely non-standardized. Suitable methods for determining surface functionalities on ligand-stabilized core and core/shell NPs include advanced techniques such as traceable quantitative nuclear magnetic resonance (qNMR) as well as X-ray electron spectroscopy (XPS) and time of flight secondary ion mass spectrometry (ToF-SIMS), and simpler optical and electrochemical methods. The latter less costly methods are often used by SMEs, e.g., for quality control. To validate methods, establish measurement uncertainties, test reference materials, and produce reference data, international interlaboratory comparisons (ILC) on NP surface functionalization measurements are required and well characterized test and reference nanomaterials providing benchmark values.[1] These needs are addressed by the recently started European metrology project SMURFnano involving 12 partners from different National Metrology Institutes, designated institutes, and research institutes, two university groups as well as one large company and one SME producing NPs. This project as well as first results derived from the development of test and reference materials with a well characterized surface chemistry and ongoing interlaboratory comparisons will be presented. T2 - eMRS CY - Strasbourg, France DA - 27.05.2025 KW - Quality assurance KW - Reference analysis KW - Standardization KW - Metrology KW - Reference products KW - Reference materials KW - Mission KW - Surface chemistry KW - Nano KW - Particle KW - qNMR KW - XPS KW - Fluorescence KW - Optical assays KW - Interlaboratory comparison KW - Uncertainty PY - 2025 AN - OPUS4-63243 LA - eng AD - Bundesanstalt fuer Materialforschung und -pruefung (BAM), Berlin, Germany ER - TY - GEN A1 - Janssen, Jan A1 - George, Janine A1 - Geiger, Julian A1 - Bercx, Marnik A1 - Wang, Xing A1 - Ertural, Christina A1 - Schaarschmidt, Joerg A1 - Ganose, Alex M. A1 - Pizzi, Giovanni A1 - Hickel, Tilmann A1 - Neugebauer, Joerg T1 - A Python workflow definition for computational materials design N2 - Numerous Workflow Management Systems (WfMS) have been developed in the field of computational materials science with different workflow formats, hindering interoperability and reproducibility of workflows in the field. To address this challenge, we introduce here the Python Workflow Definition (PWD) as a workflow exchange format to share workflows between Python-based WfMS, currently AiiDA, jobflow, and pyiron. This development is motivated by the similarity of these three Python-based WfMS, that represent the different workflow steps and data transferred between them as nodes and edges in a graph. With the PWD, we aim at fostering the interoperability and reproducibility between the different WfMS in the context of Findable, Accessible, Interoperable, Reusable (FAIR) workflows. To separate the scientific from the technical complexity, the PWD consists of three components: (1) a conda environment that specifies the software dependencies, (2) a Python module that contains the Python functions represented as nodes in the workflow graph, and (3) a workflow graph stored in the JavaScript Object Notation (JSON). The first version of the PWD supports directed acyclic graph (DAG)-based workflows. Thus, any DAG-based workflow defined in one of the three WfMS can be exported to the PWD and afterwards imported from the PWD to one of the other WfMS. After the import, the input parameters of the workflow can be adjusted and computing resources can be assigned to the workflow, before it is executed with the selected WfMS. This import from and export to the PWD is enabled by the PWD Python library that implements the PWD in AiiDA, jobflow, and pyiron. KW - Automation KW - Workflows KW - Materials Design KW - Multi-scale simulation KW - Digitalization PY - 2025 DO - https://doi.org/10.5281/zenodo.15516179 PB - Zenodo CY - Geneva AN - OPUS4-63233 LA - eng AD - Bundesanstalt fuer Materialforschung und -pruefung (BAM), Berlin, Germany ER - TY - INPR A1 - Janssen, Jan A1 - George, Janine A1 - Geiger, Julian A1 - Bercx, Marnik A1 - Wang, Xing A1 - Ertural, Christina A1 - Schaarschmidt, Joerg A1 - Ganose, Alex M. A1 - Pizzi, Giovanni A1 - Hickel, Tilmann A1 - Neugebauer, Joerg T1 - A Python workflow definition for computational materials design N2 - Numerous Workflow Management Systems (WfMS) have been developed in the field of computational materials science with different workflow formats, hindering interoperability and reproducibility of workflows in the field. To address this challenge, we introduce here the Python Workflow Definition (PWD) as a workflow exchange format to share workflows between Python-based WfMS, currently AiiDA, jobflow, and pyiron. This development is motivated by the similarity of these three Python-based WfMS, that represent the different workflow steps and data transferred between them as nodes and edges in a graph. With the PWD, we aim at fostering the interoperability and reproducibility between the different WfMS in the context of Findable, Accessible, Interoperable, Reusable (FAIR) workflows. To separate the scientific from the technical complexity, the PWD consists of three components: (1) a conda environment that specifies the software dependencies, (2) a Python module that contains the Python functions represented as nodes in the workflow graph, and (3) a workflow graph stored in the JavaScript Object Notation (JSON). The first version of the PWD supports directed acyclic graph (DAG)-based workflows. Thus, any DAG-based workflow defined in one of the three WfMS can be exported to the PWD and afterwards imported from the PWD to one of the other WfMS. After the import, the input parameters of the workflow can be adjusted and computing resources can be assigned to the workflow, before it is executed with the selected WfMS. This import from and export to the PWD is enabled by the PWD Python library that implements the PWD in AiiDA, jobflow, and pyiron. KW - Automation KW - Workflow KW - Materials Design KW - Multi-scale simulation KW - Digitalization PY - 2025 UR - https://nbn-resolving.org/urn:nbn:de:kobv:b43-632328 DO - https://doi.org/10.48550/arXiv.2505.20366 SP - 1 EP - 12 AN - OPUS4-63232 LA - eng AD - Bundesanstalt fuer Materialforschung und -pruefung (BAM), Berlin, Germany ER - TY - JOUR A1 - Guitton-Spassky, Tiffany A1 - Schade, Boris A1 - Zoister, Christian A1 - Veronese, Eleonora A1 - Rosati, Marta A1 - Baldelli Bombelli, Francesca A1 - Cavallo, Gabriella A1 - Thünemann, Andreas A1 - Ghermezcheshme, Hassan A1 - Makki, Hesam A1 - Netz, Roland R. A1 - Ludwig, Kai A1 - Metrangolo, Pierangelo A1 - Singh, Abhishek Kumar A1 - Haag, Rainer T1 - Fluorinated Hexosome Carriers for Enhanced Solubility of Drugs N2 - Designing nanomaterials for drug encapsulation is a crucial, yet challenging, aspect for pharmaceutical development. An important step is synthesizing amphiphiles that form stable supramolecular systems for efficient drug loading. In the case of fluorinated drugs, these have superior properties and also a tendency toward reduced water solubility. For the first time, we report here fluorinated hexosome carriers made from nonionic dendritic amphiphiles, capable of encapsulating the fluorinated drug Leflunomide with high efficiency (62 ± 3%) and increasing its solubility by 12-fold. We synthesized amphiphiles with varying tail groups (fluorinated/alkylated), and their supramolecular self-assembly was investigated using cryogenic transmission electron microscopy and small-angle X-ray scattering. Furthermore, Leflunomide and its equivalent nonfluorinated counterpart were encapsulated within fluorinated and nonfluorinated assemblies. Self-assembly and encapsulation mechanisms were well supported by coarse-grained molecular simulations, yielding a fundamental understanding of the new systems. KW - PEFAS KW - Small-angle X-ray scattering KW - SAXS KW - Reference method PY - 2025 UR - https://nbn-resolving.org/urn:nbn:de:kobv:b43-632002 DO - https://doi.org/10.1021/jacsau.5c00198 SN - 2691-3704 VL - 5 IS - 5 SP - 2223 EP - 2236 PB - American Chemical Society (ACS) CY - Washington, DC AN - OPUS4-63200 LA - eng AD - Bundesanstalt fuer Materialforschung und -pruefung (BAM), Berlin, Germany ER - TY - CONF A1 - Hodoroaba, Vasile-Dan T1 - Energy Dispersive X Ray Spectrometry (EDS) on GR2Ms for Routine/Standardized Elemental Analysis N2 - The elemental analysis of solid matter by means of the Energy-Dispersive X-Ray Spectrometry (EDS) is meanwhile posible as a quick (seconds!) and more and more accurate analysis via standardsless (instantaneous) quantification. The sensitivity & quantification accuracy for light elements (C, O,..) has significantly increased in the recent years. The availability via table-top SEMs with incorporated EDS is also enhanced. Further, the EDS analysis at an SEM is well-standardized, see ISO/TC 202 Microbeam Analysis & VAMAS/ TWA 37 Quantitative Microstructural Analysis in good liaisonships with ISO/TC 229 Nanotechnologies. It is demostrated that key parameters such as oxygen-to-carbon atomic-% ratio and impurities can be realibly measured, with XPS as a reference method. Various EDS spectrometers and analysis conditions are tested and the validity of the EDS quantification of an ionic liquid of well-defined chemical composition is demonstrated. Next steps are: launch of a corresponding VAMAS interlaboratory comparison and discussions within ISO/TC 202 Microbeam Analysis. T2 - ISO/TC 229 Nanotechnologies Meeting Week CY - Stockholm, Sweden DA - 19.05.2025 KW - Graphene-related 2D materials (GR2M) KW - Energy-Dispersive X-Ray Spectrometry (EDS) KW - Elemental analysis KW - Quantification KW - ISO/TC 229 Nanotechnologies PY - 2025 AN - OPUS4-63190 LA - eng AD - Bundesanstalt fuer Materialforschung und -pruefung (BAM), Berlin, Germany ER - TY - CONF A1 - Hodoroaba, Vasile-Dan T1 - Measurement of the Lateral Size of Graphene Oxide Flakes by SEM N2 - The progress of the VAMAS interlaboratory comparison Project P13 "Lateral size of graphene oxide flakes by SEM" within the Technical Working Area 41 "Graphene and Related 2D Materials" is presented. The challenges at sample preparation on substrates for accurate measurement and image analysis as well as two different analysis approaches, containing exact guidance how to measure the main descriptors for the lateral size measurement of the imaged graphene oxide flakes with Scanning Electron Microscopy are highlighted. The size and shape distributions as measured by 17 laboratories are showed expressed in size and shape descriptors extracted from SEM images by using two proposed measurement approaches. The implementation of the results into the corresponding ISO technical specification AWI/TS 23879 is discussed and planned, in relation with the AFM part. T2 - ISO/TC 229 Nanotechnologies Meeting Week CY - Stockholm, Sweden DA - 19.05.2025 KW - Graphene oxide KW - Interlaboratory comparison KW - SEM KW - Lateral size KW - VAMAS KW - ISO/TC 229 Nanotechnologies PY - 2025 AN - OPUS4-63189 LA - eng AD - Bundesanstalt fuer Materialforschung und -pruefung (BAM), Berlin, Germany ER - TY - CONF A1 - Werner, Tiago A1 - Teske, Tanita A1 - Hilgenberg, Kai A1 - Mauro, Madia A1 - Nielsen, S. A1 - Gärtner, F. A1 - Klassen, T. T1 - Untersuchung des Potenzials von Kaltgasspritzen für die Reparatur zyklisch belasteter Bauteile T1 - Investigation on the capability of cold-spray for repair of cyclically loaded components N2 - Die Reparatur mittels Kaltgasspritzen ist eine vielversprechende Alternative zum teuren Austausch fehlerbehafteter Bauteile in der Luft- und Raumfahrt. Im Rahmen dieser Arbeit wurde das Potential des Verfahrens an der hochfesten Aluminiumlegierungen Al6061-T6 unter Anwendung von Stickstoff als kostengünstiges Prozessgas untersucht. Es wurden quasi-statische Zugversuche und einachsige Zeitfestigkeitsversuche mit besonderem Fokus auf das in-situ Kugelstrahlen zur Verbesserung der mechanischen Eigenschaften durchgeführt. Im Ergebnis wurde die Verbesserung der Adhäsion zwischen Substrat und aufgebautem Werkstoff als entscheidendes Kriterium für eine Anwendbarkeit ermittelt. Die Laserstrukturierung von Substratoberflächen ist hierfür vielversprechend und wurde im Rahmen der Arbeit mittels Adhäsionsversuchen untersucht. N2 - Repair by cold-spray is a promising alternative to the costly replacement of flawed components in aerospace applications. In the present work this process was investigated on the high-strength aluminum alloy Al6061-T6. For the cold-spray process, inexpensive Nitrogen was used as process-gas. Quasi-static tensile and highcycle- fatigue tests (HCF) were performed, focusing on in-situ shot peening to improve the mechanical properties of the repaired part. An improved adhesion between substrate and built-up material was identified as a key-factor for the applicability of the process. Under this respect laser-structuring of the substrate surface was applied and its effect on the mechanical performance of the restored samples were examined by adhesion tests. T2 - 9. Tagung des DVM-Arbeitskreises Additiv gefertigte Bauteile und Strukturen CY - Stuttgart, Germany DA - 06.11.2024 KW - Kaltgasspritzen KW - cold-spray KW - Reparatur KW - Repair KW - Ermüdungsfestigkeit KW - Fatigue KW - Luft- und Raumfahrt KW - Aerospace KW - Substratvorbehandlung KW - Substrate pre-treatment PY - 2024 DO - https://doi.org/10.48447/ADD-2024-BB VL - 409 SP - 67 EP - 79 AN - OPUS4-63182 LA - deu AD - Bundesanstalt fuer Materialforschung und -pruefung (BAM), Berlin, Germany ER - TY - GEN A1 - Grandel, Jonas A1 - George, Janine T1 - Mace-mp-03b Phonon Benchmark N2 - This repository contains phonon calculations and evaluations for the MACE MP-0b3 model. First release of the scripts used for the phonon benchmark in the paper benchmarking the MACE-MP-03b model. See https://arxiv.org/abs/2401.00096 for a previous version of the paper. Full Changelog: https://github.com/JaGeo/mace-mp-03b-phonon-benchmark/commits/v0.0.1 KW - Machine Learned Interatomic Potentials KW - Phonons KW - Thermal Conductivity KW - Materials Searches KW - Foundation Model PY - 2025 DO - https://doi.org/10.5281/zenodo.15462975 PB - Zenodo CY - Geneva AN - OPUS4-63174 LA - eng AD - Bundesanstalt fuer Materialforschung und -pruefung (BAM), Berlin, Germany ER - TY - CONF A1 - Frelih, Milena T1 - Impact of Engineered Nanomaterials on Microbial Communities in the Aquatic Environment N2 - Engineered nanoparticles have garnered significant attention for their unique properties and potential applications across various industries. They were extensively examined for their toxicological effect in vitro and in vivo, but their effects on environmental and biological systems remain underexplored. A key area of concern is how nanoparticles interact with microbial communities in natural ecosystems, since these communities are vital for processes such as nutrient cycling, biodegradation, and maintaining ecosystem health and functioning. Currently, environmental risk assessments of nanoparticles majorly involve higher organisms (e.g. algae, zooplankton), but omit the effects on complex communities and ecosystems as a whole. This research aims to investigate the impact of nanomaterials on aquatic microbial communities using a combination of laboratory experiments and field-sampling along a gradient from low to highly anthropogenically impacted aquatic ecosystems around Berlin, Germany. To holistically assess changes in microbial composition and functional activity in response to nanomaterial exposure, we will apply molecular, microbiological, analytical as well as OMIC methods. We hypothesize that nanoparticles induce significant compositional changes in microbial community structures, potentially leading to alterations in stress responses and other functional effects. Nanomaterials have the potential to benefit the environment by contributing to energy and resource efficiency, remediation of contaminated sites, or water treatment. In order to represent truly sustainable products, though, a safe use for humans and ecosystems must be assured. Ultimately, this research will contribute to more accurate environmental risk assessments and help guide the responsible use of nanotechnology in various industries. T2 - SETAC Europe CY - Vienna, Austria DA - 11.05.2025 KW - Microbial Communities KW - Aquatic Environment KW - Nanomaterials PY - 2025 AN - OPUS4-63164 LA - eng AD - Bundesanstalt fuer Materialforschung und -pruefung (BAM), Berlin, Germany ER - TY - INPR A1 - Zimmermann, Yoel A1 - Bazgir, Adib A1 - Al-Feghali, Alexander A1 - Ansari, Mehrad A1 - Bocarsly, Joshua A1 - Brinson, L. Catherine A1 - Chiang, Yuan A1 - Circi, Defne A1 - Chiu, Min-Hsueh A1 - Daelman, Nathan A1 - Evans, Matthew L. A1 - Gangan, Abhijeet S. A1 - George, Janine A1 - Harb, Hassan A1 - Khalighinejad, Ghazal A1 - Khan, Sartaaj Takrim A1 - Klawohn, Sascha A1 - Lederbauer, Magdalena A1 - Mahjoubi, Soroush A1 - Mohr, Bernadette A1 - Moosavi, Seyed Mohamad A1 - Naik, Aakash A1 - Ozhan, Aleyna Beste A1 - Plessers, Dieter A1 - Roy, Aritra A1 - Schöppach, Fabian A1 - Schwaller, Philippe A1 - Terboven, Carla A1 - Ueltzen, Katharina A1 - Wu, Yue A1 - Zhu, Shang A1 - Janssen, Jan A1 - Li, Calvin A1 - Foster, Ian A1 - Blaiszik, Ben T1 - 34 Examples of LLM Applications in Materials Science and Chemistry: Towards Automation, Assistants, Agents, and Accelerated Scientific Discovery N2 - Large Language Models (LLMs) are reshaping many aspects of materials science and chemistry research, enabling advances in molecular property prediction, materials design, scientific automation, knowledge extraction, and more. Recent developments demonstrate that the latest class of models are able to integrate structured and unstructured data, assist in hypothesis generation, and streamline research workflows. To explore the frontier of LLM capabilities across the research lifecycle, we review applications of LLMs through 34 total projects developed during the second annual Large Language Model Hackathon for Applications in Materials Science and Chemistry, a global hybrid event. These projects spanned seven key research areas: (1) molecular and material property prediction, (2) molecular and material design, (3) automation and novel interfaces, (4) scientific communication and education, (5) research data management and automation, (6) hypothesis generation and evaluation, and (7) knowledge extraction and reasoning from the scientific literature. Collectively, these applications illustrate how LLMs serve as versatile predictive models, platforms for rapid prototyping of domain-specific tools, and much more. In particular, improvements in both open source and proprietary LLM performance through the addition of reasoning, additional training data, and new techniques have expanded effectiveness, particularly in low-data environments and interdisciplinary research. As LLMs continue to improve, their integration into scientific workflows presents both new opportunities and new challenges, requiring ongoing exploration, continued refinement, and further research to address reliability, interpretability, and reproducibility. KW - Automation KW - LLM KW - Machine Learning KW - Agent KW - Bonding Analysis KW - Materials Searches KW - Finetuning PY - 2025 UR - https://nbn-resolving.org/urn:nbn:de:kobv:b43-631720 DO - https://doi.org/10.48550/arXiv.2505.03049 SP - 1 EP - 33 AN - OPUS4-63172 LA - eng AD - Bundesanstalt fuer Materialforschung und -pruefung (BAM), Berlin, Germany ER - TY - CONF A1 - Jaunich, Matthias T1 - Elastomerdichtungen für Wasserstoffanwendungen - Vergleich des Alterungsverhaltens in Luft und Wasserstoff N2 - In diesem Beitrag soll ein Fokus auf das Alterungsverhalten von Elastomerdichtungen unter Wasserstoff gelegt werden. Hierfür wurden Untersuchungen bei einem mittleren Wasserstoffdruck über Alterungszeiten von bis zu 100 Tagen durchgeführt. Das Alterungsverhalten wird im Vergleich der Alterungseffekte unter thermooxidativen Bedingungen betrachtet und bewertet. Die Annahme, dass der Alterungseffekt unter Wasserstoff stets weniger ausgeprägt ist als an Luft bestätigt sich nicht durch die Ergebnisse. T2 - 4. O-Ring-Forum der Firma ISGATEC CY - Bad Schönborn, Germany DA - 15.05.2025 KW - Wasserstoff KW - Dichtung KW - Thermische Alterung KW - Elastomer PY - 2025 AN - OPUS4-63135 LA - deu AD - Bundesanstalt fuer Materialforschung und -pruefung (BAM), Berlin, Germany ER - TY - INPR A1 - Liu, Yanchen A1 - de Oliveira Guilherme Buzanich, Ana A1 - Alippi, Paola A1 - Lee, Kug-Seung A1 - Jeon, Taeyeol A1 - Weißer, Kilian A1 - Karlsen, Martin A. A1 - Russo, Patrícia A. A1 - Pinna, Nicola T1 - FeNb2O6 as a high-performance anode for sodium-ion batteries enabled by structural amorphization coupled with NbO6 local ordering. N2 - Pseudocapacitance-type transition metal oxides have been extensively investigated as anodes materials for lithium-ion batteries. Currently, they are also emerging as promising anodes for sodium-ion batteries due to their low volume change and safety. However, the potential electrochemical performance in sodium energy storage is not fully achieved, primarily due to the larger radius of the Na+-ions. Here, we report for the first time an iron niobate with columbite structure as a high-performance sodium storage anode. The presence of iron in the structure is vital to trigger the loss of long-range order through disorder of the FeO6 octahedra local structure, subsequently allowing reversible Na storage in an amorphous phase. Simultaneously, the formation of short-range ordered zigzag-chain structures within the NbO6 planes creates a “skeleton” that offers abundant active sites for pseudocapacitive ion storage and enhanced ion diffusion pathways. These characteristics of FeNb2O6 make it an effective intercalation host, offering high capacity along with fast Na+ insertion and extraction, as demonstrated through operando and ex-situ characterizations. It leads to an applicable reversible capacity ( 300 mAh g-1) with a favorable average voltage of ca. 0.6 V and excellent rate capability (180.4 mAh g-1 at a current density of 2 A g-1). This study provides insights into the development of intrinsically active transition metal oxides for Na+-ion intercalation. KW - XAS KW - Sodium-Ion-Batteries KW - In-situ PY - 2025 UR - https://nbn-resolving.org/urn:nbn:de:kobv:b43-631159 DO - https://doi.org/10.26434/chemrxiv-2025-2gn7z SP - 1 EP - 51 PB - American Chemical Society (ACS) AN - OPUS4-63115 LA - eng AD - Bundesanstalt fuer Materialforschung und -pruefung (BAM), Berlin, Germany ER - TY - JOUR A1 - Qureshi, Navid A1 - Morrow, Ryan A1 - Eltoukhy, Samar A1 - Grinenko, Vadim A1 - de Oliveira Guilherme Buzanich, Ana A1 - Onykiienko, Yevhen A. A1 - Kulbakov, Anton A1 - Inosov, Dmytro S. A1 - Adler, Peter A1 - Valldor, Martin T1 - Noncollinear Magnetic Structures in the Chiral Antiperovskite β-Fe2SeO N2 - We present the magnetic properties of the chiral, polar, andpossibly magnetoelectric antiperovskite β-Fe2SeO as derived from magnet-ization and specific-heat measurements as well as from powder neutrondiffraction and Mössbauer experiments. Our macroscopic data unambig-uously reveal two magnetic phase transitions at TN1 ≈ 103 K and TN2 ≈ 78K, while Rietveld analysis of neutron powder diffraction data reveals anoncollinear antiferromagnetic structure featuring magnetic moments inthe a−b plane of the trigonal structure and a ferromagnetic moment alongc. The latter is allowed by symmetry between TN1 and TN2, weakly visible inthe magnetization data yet unresolvable microscopically. While theintermediate phase can be expressed in the trigonal magnetic spacegroup P31, the magnetic ground state is modulated by a propagation vectorq = (1/2 1/2 0) resulting in triclinic symmetry and an even more complexlow-temperature spin arrangement which is also reflected in the Mö ssbauer hyperfine patterns indicating additional splitting of Fesites below TN2. The complex noncollinear spin arrangements suggest interesting magnetoelectric properties of this polar magnet. KW - EXAFS KW - Antiperovskite KW - Magnetic structure PY - 2024 DO - https://doi.org/10.1021/acs.inorgchem.4c02916 SN - 0020-1669 VL - 63 IS - 48 SP - 22712 EP - 22720 PB - American Chemical Society (ACS) AN - OPUS4-63116 LA - eng AD - Bundesanstalt fuer Materialforschung und -pruefung (BAM), Berlin, Germany ER - TY - JOUR A1 - Pessanha, Sofia A1 - Fortes, António A1 - Lopes, Marta B. A1 - de Oliveira Guilherme Buzanich, Ana A1 - Ortega-Feliu, Inés A1 - Respaldiza, Miguel A. A1 - Gomez Tubio, Blanca A1 - Makarova, Anna A1 - Smirnov, Dmitry A1 - Kumar, Sourabh A1 - Mata, António A1 - Silveira, João T1 - Multi-technique computational assessment of fluoride uptake in enamel using PIGE, NEXAFS, and Raman spectroscopy N2 - This study explores F incorporation in enamel via PIGE, NEXAFS, and Raman spectroscopy, integrating experimental/simulated spectra. Machine Learning boosts data interpretation, offering key insights into F delivery for clinical application. KW - Simulations KW - Enamel KW - Fuorine KW - NEXAFS PY - 2025 UR - https://nbn-resolving.org/urn:nbn:de:kobv:b43-631138 DO - https://doi.org/10.1039/D5TB00213C SN - 2050-750X SP - 1 EP - 10 PB - Royal Society of Chemistry (RSC) AN - OPUS4-63113 LA - eng AD - Bundesanstalt fuer Materialforschung und -pruefung (BAM), Berlin, Germany ER - TY - JOUR A1 - Yun, Tae Gyu A1 - Chen, Boqiang A1 - Wells, Sarah A1 - Lim, Younghwan A1 - Kim, Jun Seop A1 - de Oliveira Guilherme Buzanich, Ana A1 - Radtke, Martin A1 - Waegele, Matthias M. A1 - Risch, Marcel A1 - Grimaud, Alexis ED - de Oliveira Guilherme Buzanich, Ana T1 - Extrinsic and Intrinsic Factors Governing the Electrochemical Oxidation of Propylene in Aqueous Solutions N2 - The electrochemical synthesis of commoditychemicals such as epoxides and glycols offers a sustainablealternative to conventional methods that involve hazardouschemicals. Efforts to improve the yield and selectivity of propyleneoxidation using Pd-based catalysts have been shown to be highlysensitive to applied potential, pH, and electrochemical cell design.Record efficiencies and yields were obtained by substitution ofPdO by 4d or 5d transition metals, including Pt, with thus far littlerationale regarding the origin for the improvement. Throughelectrochemical analysis, scanning transmission electron micros-copy, X-ray absorption spectroscopy, and surface-enhanced infraredabsorption spectroscopy, we investigated the mechanism ofpropylene oxidation on Pd-based catalysts. We demonstrate thatadsorbates forming on PdO, where Pd adopts a square-planar coordination [PdO4], differ from that forming on the surface ofoxidized metallic Pd catalysts with an oxo intermediate mediating propylene oxidation on PdO. We further show that Pt substitutionin PdO does not modify this oxo intermediate. Varying pH, we found that the onset for propylene oxidation is pH independent,indicating a potential-determining step where the proton is not involved in and similar reaction pathway in acidic and near-neutralconditions. Finally, our work undoubtedly demonstrates that high Faradaic efficiency toward propylene glycol and propylene oxideformation, such as those previously reported in the literature, can be achieved by means of electrode engineering and mastery ofmass transport and local pH. Notably, we achieved ≈100% faradaic efficiency for propylene glycol at 1.7 V vs RHE in acidic mediausing a Pt-substituted PdO catalyst loaded onto a gas diffusion electrode. KW - XAS KW - Electrochemistry KW - Popylene oxidation KW - 4d metals PY - 2025 DO - https://doi.org/10.1021/jacs.5c02585 SN - 0002-7863 VL - 147 IS - 14 SP - 12318 EP - 12330 PB - American Chemical Society (ACS) AN - OPUS4-63112 LA - eng AD - Bundesanstalt fuer Materialforschung und -pruefung (BAM), Berlin, Germany ER - TY - CONF A1 - Gaal, Mate A1 - Ahmadzadeh, Majid A1 - Weise, Matthias T1 - Focussed sound field of thermoacoustic transmitters N2 - The thermoacoustic effect offers a method for selectively exciting broadband and focused ultrasonic waves, which can be utilized in air-coupled ultrasonic testing of lightweight components that might otherwise sustain damage from liquid couplants. Thermoacoustic transmitters are composed of an electrically conductive layer deposited on an insulating substrate. When electrical pulses are applied, the conductive layer heats, briefly warming the adjacent air and inducing thermal expansion, which generates an acoustic wave. In testing applications, the thermoacoustic transmitter is positioned at the focal distance to the structure under examination, where the resolution of the resulting ultrasonic image is influenced by the focus diameter. To optimize imaging resolution, understanding the focusing characteristics of thermoacoustic transmitters is essential. In this study, thermoacoustic transmitters with an indium tin oxide (ITO) layer on a quartz glass substrate were developed. Geometrical parameters, including substrate curvature and conductive layer thickness, along with electrical excitation parameters, were systematically varied to investigate their impact on the sound field up to approximately 1 MHz. The results indicate that, among the parameters studied, substrate curvature exerts the most significant influence on the sound field. T2 - DAS-DAGA Tagung CY - Kopenhagen, Danmark DA - 17.03.2025 KW - Air-coupled ultrasound KW - Thermoacoustic transmitter KW - Focussed transducer PY - 2025 SP - 1 EP - 4 AN - OPUS4-63092 LA - eng AD - Bundesanstalt fuer Materialforschung und -pruefung (BAM), Berlin, Germany ER - TY - CONF A1 - Gaal, Mate T1 - Focussed sound field of thermoacoustic transmitters N2 - The thermoacoustic effect offers a method for selectively exciting broadband and focused ultrasonic waves, which can be utilized in air-coupled ultrasonic testing of lightweight components that might otherwise sustain damage from liquid couplants. Thermoacoustic transmitters are composed of an electrically conductive layer deposited on an insulating substrate. When electrical pulses are applied, the conductive layer heats, briefly warming the adjacent air and inducing thermal expansion, which generates an acoustic wave. In testing applications, the thermoacoustic transmitter is positioned at the focal distance to the structure under examination, where the resolution of the resulting ultrasonic image is influenced by the focus diameter. To optimize imaging resolution, understanding the focusing characteristics of thermoacoustic transmitters is essential. In this study, thermoacoustic transmitters with an indium tin oxide (ITO) layer on a quartz glass substrate were developed. Geometrical parameters, including substrate curvature and conductive layer thickness, along with electrical excitation parameters, were systematically varied to investigate their impact on the sound field up to approximately 1 MHz. The results indicate that, among the parameters studied, substrate curvature exerts the most significant influence on the sound field. T2 - DAS-DAGA Tagung CY - Copenhagen, Denmark DA - 17.03.2025 KW - Air-coupled ultrasound KW - Thermoacoustic transmitter KW - Focussed transducer PY - 2025 AN - OPUS4-63093 LA - eng AD - Bundesanstalt fuer Materialforschung und -pruefung (BAM), Berlin, Germany ER - TY - JOUR A1 - Rösler, Alexander A1 - Weidner, Steffen A1 - Klamroth, Tillmann A1 - Müller, Axel H. E. A1 - Schlaad, Helmut T1 - Kinetics of anionic polymerization of β‐myrcene in hydrocarbon solvents N2 - The kinetics of anionic polymerization of β‐myrcene initiated by sec‐butyllithium were examined in saturated and unsaturated hydrocarbon solvents, i.e. cyclohexane, cyclohexene, 4‐vinylcyclohexene and dl‐limonene. Polymerizations usually proceeded in a living manner, i.e. in the absence of termination and chain transfer reactions, in all solvents, to produce well‐defined polymyrcenes with high content (85%) of cis‐1,4 units. However, polymyrcenyllithium chains exhibited limited long‐term stability in 4‐vinylcyclohexene solution, most probably due to chain transfer to solvent. Reaction orders with respect to the concentration of active chains were found to be one‐quarter in cyclohexane increasing to one‐half in unsaturated solvents, indicating that the polymyrcenyllithium chains are present as tetrameric or dimeric associates, respectively. Apparent activation energies were found to be 81 kJ mol−1 in cyclohexane and 77 kJ mol−1 in dl‐limonene solution, which are close to the values obtained by quantum chemical calculations. KW - MALDI-TOF MS KW - Anionic polymerization KW - β‐myrcene KW - Kinetics KW - Reaction order KW - Activation energy KW - Microstructure KW - Quantum chemical calculations PY - 2025 UR - https://nbn-resolving.org/urn:nbn:de:kobv:b43-630900 DO - https://doi.org/10.1002/pi.6772 SN - 1097-0126 SP - 1 EP - 8 PB - Wiley CY - New York, NY AN - OPUS4-63090 LA - eng AD - Bundesanstalt fuer Materialforschung und -pruefung (BAM), Berlin, Germany ER - TY - JOUR A1 - Rodríguez-Sánchez, Noelia A1 - Bhattacharya, Biswajit A1 - Emmerling, Franziska A1 - Prinz, Carsten A1 - Prieto-Laria, P. A1 - Ruiz-Salvador, A.R. A1 - Ballesteros, M. T1 - Engineering a multivariate cobalt metal–organic framework for high photocatalytic activity: the impact of mixed ligands and metal incorporation in a visible light-driven heterogeneous photo-Fenton reaction for water treatment N2 - Metal–organic frameworks (MOFs) have attracted increasing attention for the removal of organic pollutants in wastewater via photocatalysis. Here, we design a multivariate modification of ZIF-9 to tune its electronic properties for use in visible light photocatalysis. A controllable synthesis of ZIF-9 and its multivariate forms with the incorporation of copper and the 2-imidazolecarboxaldehyde (ica) ligand was carried out. The materials are tested for the removal of the model dye methylene blue (MB) by a heterogeneous photo-Fenton-like reaction at neutral pH and room temperature. Cu-ZIF-9-ica (UPO-3) shows high photocatalytic activity under both visible and ultraviolet A (UVA) light, achieving 94% MB degradation in 45 min, compared to 65% MB degradation in 120 min using bare ZIF-9. The study revealed a first-order rate constant of 0.0475 min−1 for Cu-ZIF-9-ica compared to 0.0088 min−1 for ZIF-9 under visible light. The improvement of the catalyst was clearly attributed to the co-incorporation of Cu and the ica ligand in the MOF, which reduces the band gap, in agreement with DFT calculations. Reproducibility and recyclability tests proved that Cu-ZIF-9-ica can be used for at least 3 cycles without a significant loss of efficiency, making it a promising material for the study and application of wastewater treatment. KW - Metal-Organic Framework (MOF) KW - Heterogeneous photo-Fenton KW - ZIF-9 KW - Methylene Blue PY - 2025 UR - https://nbn-resolving.org/urn:nbn:de:kobv:b43-630797 DO - https://doi.org/10.1039/d4na00954a SN - 2516-0230 VL - 7 IS - 8 SP - 2255 EP - 2265 PB - Royal Society of Chemistry AN - OPUS4-63079 LA - eng AD - Bundesanstalt fuer Materialforschung und -pruefung (BAM), Berlin, Germany ER - TY - CONF A1 - Pauw, Brian Richard T1 - A place for everything: traceable science using metadata from syntheses and characterisation N2 - In our laboratory, we rely heavily on automation for synthesis and measurement. Done right, automation can deliver reliable quantities of excruciatingly detailed data, produced in a reproducible and traceable way. This data then needs sorting and organising, and a good structure of metadata is a good start to long-lasting data. This metadata collection is an essential part of our “holistic experimentation”-approach. In this approach, we try to ensure that all aspects of the experimental chain are performed to a high standard, so that experimental integrity is maintained. In other words: as a failure in one of the components of the chain can make an entire experiment worthless, we must ensure each component is done (and documented) well. In this talk, we show how we 1) synthesise well-documented sample series, 2) apply a complete end-to-end X-ray scattering characterisation methodology to those samples, and 3) can link the data from the synthesis to the structural details obtained from the scattering experiments in a visual dashboard. Furthermore, we will show examples on how data can be organised in hierarchical structures in HDF5-based datafiles, and how this helps move towards more trustworthy, traceable science. About the speaker: Brian Pauw is a full-stack X-ray scattering expert with over 15 years of experience in materials science. After earning a Ph.D. in Chemical Engineering from the Technical University of Denmark in 2009, Brian advanced scattering techniques at Japan’s National Institute for Materials Science before joining BAM (Federal Institute for Materials Research and Testing) in Germany as a permanent researcher. At BAM, Brian focuses on small-angle scattering of polymers, metals, catalysts, and more – developing precise methodologies for data collection, correction, and analysis. They also lead efforts in laboratory automation, including robotic systems for reproducible sample preparation, aiming to enhance the efficiency and reliability of experimental workflows. T2 - Helmholtz Metadata Collaboration: FAIR Friday Lecture Series CY - Online meeting DA - 09.05.2025 KW - Methodology KW - X-ray scattering KW - Traceability KW - Data provenance KW - Metadata KW - Lab automation KW - Holistic science PY - 2025 AN - OPUS4-63078 LA - eng AD - Bundesanstalt fuer Materialforschung und -pruefung (BAM), Berlin, Germany ER - TY - JOUR A1 - Reigl, Selina A1 - Van Driessche, Alexander A1 - Stawski, Tomasz A1 - Koltzenburg, Sebastian A1 - Kunz, Werner A1 - Kellermeier, Matthias T1 - Sustainable Pathways for the Synthesis of Calcium Sulfate Hemihydrate N2 - Calcium sulfate, and especially its hemihydrate form (bassanite), is crucial in the construction industry, primarily used as a hydraulic binder in cements, mortars, and wallboards. Because of the rapid transformation of bassanite into thermodynamically stable gypsum (calcium sulfate dihydrate) upon contact with water, natural deposits are scarce, rendering it one of the most extensively produced inorganic materials worldwide. Currently, bassanite is derived from mined or waste gypsum through a thermal dehydration process, which is energy-intensive and costly. As sustainability has become a key target for industrial processes and products, a series of studies aiming to increase the energy efficiency and reduce the carbon footprint of bassanite production was published recently. Two primary approaches are pursued: conversion of gypsum and direct precipitation of bassanite from solution. In both cases, organic solvents, (specific) additives and/or elevated temperatures have been used to control the activity/availability of water in the reaction medium and thus direct phase selection towards bassanite. This review offers a comprehensive overview of alternative bassanite production methods, critically examining their benefits, potential downsides, and overall impact on the sustainability of industrial-scale use. KW - Calcium sulfate KW - Gypsum KW - Bassanite KW - Recycling PY - 2025 UR - https://nbn-resolving.org/urn:nbn:de:kobv:b43-630657 DO - https://doi.org/10.1002/anie.202415161 SN - 1521-3773 SP - 1 EP - 20 PB - Wiley VHC-Verlag AN - OPUS4-63065 LA - eng AD - Bundesanstalt fuer Materialforschung und -pruefung (BAM), Berlin, Germany ER - TY - RPRT A1 - Kim, K. J. A1 - Yu, H. A1 - Lee, S. M. A1 - Kwon, J. H. A1 - Ruh, H. A1 - Radnik, Jörg A1 - Archanjo, B. S. A1 - Annese, E. A1 - Damasceno, J. C. A1 - Achete, C. A. A1 - Yao, Y. A1 - Ren, L. A1 - Gao, H. A1 - Windover, D. A1 - Matsuzaki, H. A1 - Azuma, Y. A1 - Zhang, L. A1 - Fujimoto, T. A1 - Jordaan, W. A. A1 - Reed, B. A1 - Shard, A. G. A1 - Cibik, L. A1 - Gollwitzer, C. A1 - Krumrey, M. T1 - Final report of CCQM-K157 for the measurement of the amount of substance of HfO2 expressed as the thickness of nm films N2 - The key comparison CCQM-K157 for the thickness measurement of HfO2 films was performed by the Surface Analysis Working Group (SAWG) of the Consultative Committee for Amount of Substance (CCQM). The aim of CCQM-K157 is to establish the measurement traceability and to ensure the equivalency in the measurement capability of national metrology institutes for the thickness measurement of HfO2 films. In this key comparison, the thicknesses of six HfO2 films with the nominal thickness range from 0.7 nm to 6 nm were compared by x-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS), x-ray reflectometry (XRR), transmission electron microscopy (TEM), spectroscopic ellipsometry (SE) and medium energy ion scattering spectrometry (MEIS). To reach the main text of this paper, click on Final Report. Note that this text is that which appears in Appendix B of the BIPM key comparison database https://www.bipm.org/kcdb/. The final report has been peer-reviewed and approved for publication by the CCQM, according to the provisions of the CIPM Mutual Recognition Arrangement (CIPM MRA). KW - CCQM KW - Thin Films KW - HfO2 KW - thickness KW - XPS PY - 2023 DO - https://doi.org/10.1088/0026-1394/60/1A/08010 VL - 60 SP - 08010 PB - IOP AN - OPUS4-63049 LA - eng AD - Bundesanstalt fuer Materialforschung und -pruefung (BAM), Berlin, Germany ER - TY - JOUR A1 - Ciornii, Dmitri A1 - Hodoroaba, Vasile-Dan A1 - Wachtendorf, Volker A1 - Fengler, Petra A1 - Altmann, Korinna T1 - Interlaboratory Comparison Reveals State of the Art in Microplastic Detection and Quantification Methods N2 - In this study, we investigate the current accuracy of widely used microplastic (MP) detection methods through an interlaboratory comparison (ILC) involving ISO-approved techniques. The ILC was organized under the prestandardization platform of VAMAS (Versailles Project on Advanced Materials and Standards) and gathered a large number (84) of analytical laboratories across the globe. The aim of this ILC was (i) to test and to compare two thermo-analytical and three spectroscopical methods with respect to their suitability to identify and quantify microplastics in a water-soluble matrix and (ii) to test the suitability of the microplastic test materials to be used in ILCs. Two reference materials (RMs), polyethylene terephthalate (PET) and polyethylene (PE) as powders with rough size ranges between 10 and 200 μm, were used to press tablets for the ILC. The following parameters had to be assessed: polymer identity, mass fraction, particle number concentration, and particle size distribution. The reproducibility, SR, in thermo-analytical experiments ranged from 62%−117% (for PE) and 45.9%−62% (for PET). In spectroscopical experiments, the SR varied between 121% and 129% (for PE) and 64% and 70% (for PET). Tablet dissolution turned out to be a very challenging step and should be optimized. Based on the knowledge gained, development of guidance for improved tablet filtration is in progress. Further, in this study, we discuss the main sources of uncertainties that need to be considered and minimized for preparation of standardized protocols for future measurements with higher accuracy. KW - Microplastics KW - Interlaboratory comparison KW - PlasticsFatE KW - PET KW - PE KW - Reference materials KW - VAMAS KW - Thermo-analytical methods KW - Spectroscopical methods PY - 2025 UR - https://nbn-resolving.org/urn:nbn:de:kobv:b43-630462 DO - https://doi.org/10.1021/acs.analchem.4c05403 SN - 1520-6882 VL - 97 SP - 8719 EP - 8728 PB - ACS Publications AN - OPUS4-63046 LA - eng AD - Bundesanstalt fuer Materialforschung und -pruefung (BAM), Berlin, Germany ER - TY - JOUR A1 - Wolf, M. E. A1 - Vickery, W. M. A1 - Swift-Ramirez, W. A1 - Arnold, A. M. A1 - Orlando, J. D. A1 - Schmidt, S. J. A1 - Liu, Y. A1 - Er, Jasmin A1 - Schusterbauer, Robert A1 - Ahmed, R. A1 - Nickl, Philip A1 - Radnik, Jörg A1 - Donskyi, Ievgen A1 - Sydlik, S. A. T1 - The Mitsunobu reaction for the gentle covalent attachment of biomolecules to graphene oxide N2 - Graphene oxide (GO) has emerged as a promising biomaterial as it is easily and cheaply synthesized, strong, cytocompatible, osteoinductive, and has a well-characterized aqueous degradation pathway. It is also a great substrate for functionalization with biomolecules such as proteins, peptides, and small molecules that can enhance or add bioactivity. Covalent chemical linkages as opposed to typical noncovalent association methods are preferable so that the biomolecules do not quickly diffuse away or face replacement by other proteins, which is critical in long time scale applications like bone regeneration. However, covalent chemistry tends to carry a drawback of harsh reaction conditions that can damage the structure, conformation, and therefore function of a delicate biomolecule like a protein. Here, the Mitsunobu reaction is introduced as a novel method of covalently attaching proteins to graphene oxide. It features gentle reaction conditions and has the added benefit of utilizing the plentiful basal plane alcohol functionalities on graphene oxide, allowing for high yield protein functionalization. The amino acid Glycine (G), the protein bovine serum albumin (BSA), and the small molecule SVAK-12 are utilized to create the three Mitsunobu Graphene (MG) materials G-MG, BSA-MG, and SVAK-MG that demonstrate the wide applicability of this functionalization method. KW - Graphene oxide KW - Mitsunobu reaction KW - Covalent attachment KW - Bovine serum albumin KW - Macrophage polarization KW - Osteogenesis PY - 2025 UR - https://nbn-resolving.org/urn:nbn:de:kobv:b43-630483 DO - https://doi.org/10.1016/j.carbon.2025.120221 VL - 238 SP - 1 EP - 15 PB - Elsevier Ltd. AN - OPUS4-63048 LA - eng AD - Bundesanstalt fuer Materialforschung und -pruefung (BAM), Berlin, Germany ER - TY - JOUR A1 - Al-Waqfi, R. A. A1 - Khan, C. J. A1 - Irving, O. J. A1 - Matthews, Lauren A1 - Albrecht, T. T1 - Crowding Effects during DNA Translocation in Nanopipettes N2 - Quartz nanopipettes are an important emerging class of electric single-molecule sensors for DNA, proteins, their complexes, as well as other biomolecular targets. However, in comparison to other resistive pulse sensors, nanopipettes constitute a highly asymmetric environment and the transport of ions and biopolymers can become strongly directiondependent. For double-stranded DNA, this can include the characteristic translocation time and tertiary structure, but as we show here, nanoconfinement can also unlock capabilities for biophysical and bioanalytical studies at the single-molecule level. To this end, we show how the accumulation of DNA inside the nanochannel leads to crowding effects, and in some cases reversible blocking of DNA entry, and provide a detailed analysis based on a range of different DNA samples and experimental conditions. Moreover, using biotin-functionalized DNA and streptavidinmodified gold nanoparticles as target, we demonstrate in a proof-of-concept study how the crowding effect, and the resulting increased residence time in nanochannel, can be exploited by first injecting the DNA into the nanochannel, followed by incubation with the nanoparticle target and analysis of the complex by reverse translocation. We thereby integrate elements of sample processing and detection into the nanopipette, as an important conceptual advance, and make a case for the wider applicability of this device concept. KW - DNA translocation KW - Transport KW - Resistive-pulse sensing KW - Nanopores KW - Nanopipettes KW - Crowding KW - Confinement PY - 2025 UR - https://nbn-resolving.org/urn:nbn:de:kobv:b43-630448 DO - https://doi.org/10.1021/acsnano.5c01529 SN - 1936-086X VL - 19 IS - 17 SP - 1 EP - 9 PB - ACS Publications AN - OPUS4-63044 LA - eng AD - Bundesanstalt fuer Materialforschung und -pruefung (BAM), Berlin, Germany ER - TY - JOUR A1 - Gupta, Kanhaiya A1 - Poka, Konstantin A1 - Ulbricht, Alexander A1 - Waske, Anja T1 - Identification and authentication of additively manufactured components using their microstructural fingerprint N2 - In the field of additive manufacturing, the ability to uniquely identify and authenticate parts is crucial for certification, logistics, and anti-counterfeiting efforts. This study introduces a novel methodology that leverages the intrinsic microstructural features of additively manufactured components for their identification, authentication, and traceability. Unlike traditional tagging methods, such as embedding QR codes on the surface or within the volume of parts, this approach requires no alteration to the printing process, as it utilizes naturally occurring microstructural characteristics. The proposed workflow involves the analysis of 3D micro-computed tomography data to identify specific voids that meet predefined identification criteria. This method is demonstrated on a batch of 24 parts manufactured with identical process parameters, proving capable of achieving unambiguous identification and authentication. By establishing a tamper-proof link between the physical part and its digital counterpart, this methodology effectively bridges the physical and digital realms. This not only enhances the traceability of additively manufactured parts but also provides a robust tool for integrating digital materials, parts databases, and product passports with their physical counterparts. KW - Authentication KW - Additive manufacturing KW - X-ray Computed Tomography KW - Digital fingerprint KW - Unique identification PY - 2025 UR - https://nbn-resolving.org/urn:nbn:de:kobv:b43-630356 DO - https://doi.org/10.1016/j.matdes.2025.113986 SN - 1873-4197 VL - 254 SP - 1 EP - 12 PB - Elsevier Ltd. CY - Amsterdam AN - OPUS4-63035 LA - eng AD - Bundesanstalt fuer Materialforschung und -pruefung (BAM), Berlin, Germany ER - TY - JOUR A1 - Kricheldorf, Hans R. A1 - Weidner, Steffen A1 - Meyer, A. T1 - About Polycondensation, Disproportionation, and Cyclization of Acetylated Poly(L-Lactide) Esters N2 - L-lactide (LA) is polymerized with ethyl L-lactate or trifluoroethanol as initiators (LA/In = 30/1), and the resulting poly(L-lactide) esters are acetylated with acetic anhydride. The acetylated PLA esters are mixed with SnOct2, dibutyltin bis(4-chlorophenoxide), or dibutyltin bis(pentafluorophenoxide) in solution and crystallized at 120 °C. The doped crystals are annealed at 140 °C or at 160 °C for 7, 14, and 28 days, and the chemical modifications that occurred in the solid state are monitored by matrix-assisted laser desorption/ionization time-of-flight (MALDI TOF) mass spectrometry, gel permeation chromatography (GPC), and differential scanning calorimetry (DSC) measurements. All catalysts promoted polycondensation, while no significant formation of cycles is observed. However, in the presence of SnOct2, disproportionation of chains occurred upon annealing at 120 or 140 °C, and crystallites consisting of extended chains with Mn values ≈3500 – 3600 and low dispersities (Ð < 1.5) are formed. KW - MALDI-TOF MS KW - Polycondensation KW - Polylactides KW - Transesterifcation PY - 2024 UR - https://nbn-resolving.org/urn:nbn:de:kobv:b43-630349 DO - https://doi.org/10.1002/macp.202400175 SN - 1521-3935 VL - 225 IS - 19 PB - Wiley VHC-Verlag AN - OPUS4-63034 LA - eng AD - Bundesanstalt fuer Materialforschung und -pruefung (BAM), Berlin, Germany ER - TY - JOUR A1 - Starkholm, A. A1 - Al-Sabbagh, Dominik A1 - Sarisozen, S A1 - von Reppert, A A1 - Rössle, M A1 - Ostermann, Markus A1 - Unger, E A1 - Emmerling, Franziska A1 - Kloo, L A1 - Svensson, P A1 - Lang, F A1 - Maslyanchuk, O. T1 - Green Fabrication of Sulfonium-Containing Bismuth Materials for High-Sensitivity X-Ray Detection N2 - Organic–inorganic hybrid materials based on lead and bismuth have recently been proposed as novel X- and gamma-ray detectors for medical imaging, non-destructive testing, and security, due to their high atomic numbers and facile preparation compared to traditional materials like amorphous selenium and Cd(Zn)Te. However, challenges related to device operation, excessively high dark currents, and long-term stability have delayed commercialization. Here, two novel semiconductors incorporating stable sulfonium cations are presented, [(CH3CH2)3S]6Bi8I30 and [(CH3CH2)3S]AgBiI5, synthesized via solvent-free ball milling and fabricated into dense polycrystalline pellets using cold isostatic compression, two techniques that can easily be upscaled, for X-ray detection application. The fabricated detectors exhibit exceptional sensitivities (14 100–15 190 µC Gyair−1 cm−2) and low detection limits (90 nGyair s−1 for [(CH3CH2)3S]6Bi8I30 and 78 nGyair s−1 for [(CH3CH2)3S]AgBiI5), far surpassing current commercial detectors. Notably, they maintain performance after 9 months of ambient storage. The findings highlight [(CH3CH2)3S]6Bi8I30 and [(CH3CH2)3S]AgBiI5 as scalable, cost-effective and highly stable alternatives to traditional semiconductor materials, offering great potential as X-ray detectors in medical and security applications. KW - Mechanochemistry KW - X-ray detectors PY - 2025 UR - https://nbn-resolving.org/urn:nbn:de:kobv:b43-630306 DO - https://doi.org/10.1002/adma.202418626 SP - 1 EP - 10 PB - Wiley VHC-Verlag AN - OPUS4-63030 LA - eng AD - Bundesanstalt fuer Materialforschung und -pruefung (BAM), Berlin, Germany ER - TY - JOUR A1 - Szymoniak, Paulina A1 - Kolmangadi, Mohamed A. A1 - Böhning, Martin A1 - De Souza, N. R. A1 - Juranyi, F. A1 - Zorn, R. A1 - Schönhals, Andreas T1 - Inelastic and Quasielastic Neutron Scattering on Polynorbornenes with Bulky Carbocyclic Side groups N2 - This study investigates the molecular mobility and vibrational properties of polynorbornenes with bulky carbocyclic side groups using inelastic and quasielastic neutron scattering techniques. The polymers, synthesized via metathesis and addition polymerization, exhibit varying degrees of microporosity, which ignificantly influences their gas separation performance. By inelastic neutron scattering experiments, it could be shown that all considered polymers have excess contributions to the low frequency vibrational density of states known as the Boson peak. The maximum frequency of the Boson peak correlates to the microporosity of the polymers. This correlation supports the sound wave interpretation of the Boson peak, suggesting that the microporous structure enhances the compressibility of the material at a microscopic length scale. The molecular mobility, particularly the methyl group rotation, was characterized using elastic scans and quasielastic neutron scattering. The study revealed a temperature dependent relaxation process, with the onset of molecular fluctuations observed around 200 K for the polymer containing methyl groups. For the polymer having no methyl groups only elastic scattering is observed. The methyl group rotation was analyzed in terms of a jump diffusion in a threefold potential with three equivalent energy minima. This leads to an almost correct description of the q dependence of the elastic incoherent scattering function when the number of hydrogen nuclei undergoing the methyl group rotation is considered. It was further evidenced that the fraction of methyl undergoing the methyl group rotation increases with increasing temperature. KW - Polymers of Intrinsic Microporosity KW - Neutron scattering PY - 2025 UR - https://nbn-resolving.org/urn:nbn:de:kobv:b43-630297 DO - https://doi.org/10.1016/j.polymer.2025.128358 SN - 1873-2291 VL - 328 SP - 241 PB - Elsevier Ltd. AN - OPUS4-63029 LA - eng AD - Bundesanstalt fuer Materialforschung und -pruefung (BAM), Berlin, Germany ER - TY - JOUR A1 - Kieserling, Helena A1 - Sieg, Holger A1 - Heilscher, Jasmin A1 - Drusch, Stephan A1 - Braeuning, Albert A1 - Thünemann, Andreas A1 - Rohn, Sascha T1 - Towards Understanding Particle-Protein Complexes: Physicochemical, Structural, and Cellbiological Characterization of β-Lactoglobulin Interactions with Silica, Polylactic Acid, and Polyethylene Terephthalate Nanoparticles N2 - Nanoplastic particles and their additives are increasingly present in the food chain, interacting with biomacromolecules with not yet known consequences. A protein corona forms around the particles in these usually complex matrices, primarily with a first contact at surface-active proteins. However, systematic studies on the interactions between the particles and proteins –especially regarding protein affinity and structural changes due to surface properties like polarity – are limited. It is also unclear whether the protein corona can "mask" the particles, mimic protein properties, and induce cytotoxic effects when internalized by mammalian cells. This study aimed at investigating the physicochemical properties of model particle-protein complexes, the structural changes of adsorbed proteins, and their effects on Caco-2 cells. Whey protein β-lactoglobulin (β-Lg) was used as a well-characterized model protein and studied in a mixture with nanoparticles of varying polarity, specifically silica, polylactic acid (PLA), and polyethylene terephthalate (PET). The physicochemical analyses included measurements of the hydrodynamic diameter and the zeta potential, while the protein conformational changes were analyzed using Fourier-transform-infrared spectroscopy (FTIR) and intrinsic fluorescence. Cellular uptake in Caco-2 cells was assessed through flow cytometry, cell viability was measured using the 3-(4,5-dimethylthiazol-2-yl)-2,5-diphenyltetrazolium-bromide (MTT) assay, and cellular impedance was analyzed with xCELLigence® technology. The results indicated that β-Lg had the highest affinity for hydrophilic silica particles, forming silica-β-Lg complexes and large aggregates through electrostatic interactions. The affinity decreased for PLA and was lowest for hydrophobic PET, which formed smaller complexes. Adsorption onto silica caused partial unfolding and refolding of β-Lg. The silica-β-Lg complexes were internalized by Caco-2 cells, impairing cell proliferation. In contrast, PLA- and PET-protein complexes were not internalized, though PLA complexes slightly reduced cell viability. This study enhances our understanding of protein adsorption on nanoparticles and its potential biological effects. KW - Nanoplastics KW - Microplastics KW - Reference materials KW - Scattering KW - DLS PY - 2025 UR - https://nbn-resolving.org/urn:nbn:de:kobv:b43-630093 DO - https://doi.org/10.1016/j.colsurfb.2025.114702 SN - 1873-4367 VL - 253 SP - 1 EP - 12 PB - Elsevier BV CY - Amsterdam AN - OPUS4-63009 LA - eng AD - Bundesanstalt fuer Materialforschung und -pruefung (BAM), Berlin, Germany ER -