Welcome to the Amira-Avizo Software Use Case Gallery

The electrode microstructural properties significantly influence the efficiency and durability of many electrochemical devices including solid oxide fuel cells. Despite the possibility of simulating the electrochemical phenomena within real three-dimensional microstructures, the potential of such 3D microstructural information has not yet been fully exploited. We introduce here a completely new methodology for the advanced characterization of inhomogeneous current distribution base... Read more

Biodegradable materials, such as collagen scaffolds, are used extensively in clinical medicine for tissue regeneration and/or as an implantable drug delivery vehicle. However, available methods to study biomaterial degradation are typically invasive, destructive, and/or non-volumetric. Therefore, the objective of this study was to investigate a new method for nondestructive, longitudinal, and volumetric measurement of collagen scaffold degradation. Gold nanoparticles (Au NPs) were covalently ... Read more

Metal-organic frameworks (MOFs) and metal nanoparticles are two classes of materials that have received considerable recent attention, each for controlling chemical reactivities, albeit in very different ways. Here, we report the growth of MOF shell layers surrounding aluminum nanocrystals (Al NCs), an Earth-abundant metal with energetic, plasmonic, and photocatalytic properties. The MOF shell growth proceeds by means of dissolution-and-growth chemistry that uses the intrinsic surface oxide o... Read more

Catalyst aging effects were analyzed using X-ray absorption micro-computed tomography in combination with conventional characterization methods on various length scales ranging from nm to μm to gain insight into deactivation mechanisms.

For this purpose, a 4 wt% Pt/Al₂O₃ model exhaust gas catalyst was coated on a cordierite honeycomb and subjected to sequential thermal aging in static air at 950 °C for 4, 8, 12 and 24 hours. The ag... Read more

Retroviruses evolved from long terminal repeat (LTR) retrotransposons by acquisition of envelope functions, and subsequently reinvaded host genomes. Together, endogenous retroviruses and LTR retrotransposons represent major components of animal, plant, and fungal genomes. Sequences from these elements have been exapted to perform essential host functions, including placental development, synaptic communication, and transcriptional regulation. They encode a Gag polypeptide, the capsid domains ... Read more

A novel archaeal virus, denoted Sulfolobus ellipsoid virus 1 (SEV1), was isolated from an acidic hot spring in Costa Rica. The morphologically unique virion of SEV1 contains a protein capsid with 16 regularly spaced striations and an 11-nm-thick envelope. The capsid exhibits an unusual architecture in which the viral DNA, probably in the form of a nucleoprotein filament, wraps around the longitudinal axis of the virion in... Read more

Sediment plates (a type of lacquer peels) represent a sampling method whereby a thin plate of undisturbed sediments is obtained directly from the outcrop. A low-viscosity, hardening epoxy resin is applied to a freshly exposed cross-section of an unconsolidated deposit and impregnates a surface layer of the cross-section via capillary forces before solidifying. Upon hardening, a solid plate (0.5–5 cm thick and up to 2 m in length) of the sedimentary formation can be recovered and transported... Read more

Core@shell Fe@Fe₃O₄ nanoparticles (NPs) are synthesized via the thermal decomposition of iron pentacarbonyl (Fe(CO)₅) in the presence either of oleylamine (OAm) or a mixture of OAm and oleic acid (OA). The heterostructured nanocomposites formed do so by a postsynthetic modification of isolated Fe seeds. This proves the versatility of the coating procedure and represents a significant advantage over previous work with Co seeds owing to the higher magnetic susc... Read more

The effect of the defect size and morphology on the fatigue damage evolution was analysed in a recycled Al-Si-Cu alloy by micro-computed tomography and scanning electron microscopy. Fatigue tests were performed and the different crack initiation scenarios were characterized and classified. The interaction between shrinkage and gas pores was the key crack initiation mechanism and the ß-Al5FeSi particles did not play any role in the crack initiation phase. However, crack path analysis indicate... Read more

Nickel/zirconia-based nanostructured electrodes for solid oxide fuel cells suffer from poor stability even at intermediate temperature.

This study quantifies the electrochemical and microstructural degradation of nanostructured electrodes by combining 3D tomography, electrochemical impedance spectroscopy (EIS) and mechanistic modeling. For the first time, the electrochemical degradation of nanostructured electrodes is quantified according to the fractal nature of the three-phase bounda... Read more

Ni-YSZ anodes for Solid Oxide Fuel Cells are vulnerable to microstructural damage during redox cycling leading to a decrease in the electrochemical performance.

• Quantification of redox damage by coupling 3D tomography, EIS and nanoindentation.
• YSZ fracture, Ni detachment and agglomeration led to irreversible mechanical damage.
• Ni nanoparticles obtained upon redox cycling improve electrochemical performance.
• Loss in TPB densi... Read more

Electrospun all-fiber flexible supercapacitor with nanofiber electrodes/separator.

• Increased graphitic degree with the addition of MnACAC and thermal decomposition.
• Enhanced capacitive performance with the addition of MnO.
• Quantified nanofiber alignment and increased bias with MnO over undoped fibers.
• FIBSEM tomography of nanofibers showing MnO disitribution in carbon nanofibers.

We present an all-fiber flexible supercapacitor with compo... Read more

Proton conductivity of the polymer electrolyte membranes in fuel cells dictates their performance and requires sufficient water management. Here, we report a simple, scalable method to produce well-dispersed transition metal carbide nanoparticles. We demonstrate that these, when added as an additive to the proton exchange Nafion membrane, provide significant enhancement in power density and durability over 100 hours, surpassing both the baseline Nafion and platinum-containing recast Nafion ... Read more