Supplementary data are available at Bioinformatics online.

Over the past decade, efforts have been made to develop nondestructive techniques for three-dimensional (3D) grain-orientation mapping in crystalline materials. 3D x-ray diffraction microscopy and differential-aperture x-ray microscopy can now be used to generate 3D orientation maps with a spatial resolution of 200 nanometers (nm). We describe here a nondestructive technique that enables 3D orientation mapping in the transmission electron microscope of mono- and multiphase nanocrystalline materials with a spatial resolution reaching 1 nm. We demonstrate the technique by an experimental study of a nanocrystalline aluminum sample and use simulations to validate the principles involved.

An epoxy group was successfully attached to the surface of silicon nanoparticle (SiNPs) via a silanization reaction between silanol-enriched SiNPs and functional silanes. The epoxy-functionalized SiNPs showed a much improved cell performance compared with the pristine SiNPs because of the increased stability with electrolyte and the formation of a covalent bond between the epoxy group and the polyacrylic acid binder. Furthermore, the anode laminate made from epoxy-SiNPs showed much enhanced adhesion strength. Post-test analysis shed light on how the epoxy-functional group affects the physical and electrochemical properties of the SiNP anode.

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Combined in situ small-and wide-angle X-ray scattering (SAXS/WAXS) studies were performed in a new laboratory setup to investigate the dynamical properties of a ruthenium/spinel (Ru/MgAl 2 O 4 ) catalyst, w(Ru) = 4 wt %, during the reduction and subsequent dry methane reforming. The Ru particles in the fresh catalyst sample were found to be partially oxidized. High-resolution transmission electron microscopy (HRTEM) indicated a coexistence of pure Ru and RuO 2 nanoparticles. Reduction in hydrogen occurred at a temperature between 373 and 393 K. The mean particle diameter as refined from SAXS of the size regime attributed to scattering from Ru/RuO 2 -particles decreases slightly by about 0.2 nm during the reduction. Dry methane reforming experiments were performed in a temperature interval from 723 to 1023 K by applying a gas mixture of carbon dioxide and methane in molar ratio of 3:1. The catalyst did not show any deactivation during the experiment of overall 32 h, indicated by stable turnover frequencies for methane. The mean Ru-particle diameter remained constant during the dry methane reforming experiments, revealing a high sintering stability of the Ru/MgAl 2 O 4 catalyst.