CLS NEWS - January 2025

Advancing hydrogen as a replacement for carbon fuels

Researchers at the University of Toronto are working to improve the efficiency of a device that uses electricity to convert water into hydrogen and oxygen gases, which can then be stored and used for energy. They developed a new design of this device and, with help from the CLS, found that their modification improved its efficiency. Full story

New linac update

Despite completing the installation of our new linear accelerator (linac) on schedule, we have encountered unforeseen challenges during commissioning that have prevented it from achieving the expected performance. While significant progress has been made, the linac is not yet reliable enough for beamline operations. Our team is working with the vendor to resolve these issues. As a result, we had to cancel all beamtime until March 24, 2025. We deeply regret the inconvenience and disruption this has caused our users and we will reschedule lost beamtime. Since we need to both reschedule shifts and replace critical storage ring components in the second half of 2025, we will not open a regular Call for Proposals for beamtime for July to December 2025. Keep up with the project

Developing new drugs to battle resurgence of malaria

With climate change threatening to expand?mosquito habitats and a growing drug resistance to conventional therapeutics, an international research team used the CLS to study treatments targeting the malaria-causing parasite. These treatments are cost-effective and may be less toxic. Full story

Discovery paves way for next-generation medications

New research by scientists at McGill University?represents a major step forward in our ability to develop medicines whose effectiveness will endure in the battle against infections. Using the CLS, they revealed how molecular machinery inside nature’s microbes builds antibiotics. Researchers have been working on this problem for decades, and this new insight represents an improvement in our ability to create new drugs and medicines. Full story

Etuaptmumk in science: professional development for educators

This is a unique virtual series on weaving Indigenous perspectives and mainstream science through synchrotron research. Learn how Two-Eyed Seeing can transform not just what you teach but how you approach science in the classroom. On April 8-16,?we’ll explore meaningful ways to bridge perspectives and inspire the next generation of scientists. About the event

PALSA 2025: register now

The 4th International Pan American Light Sources for Agriculture meeting will be held August 20-22 in Saskatoon and online. Register now and submit an abstract by March 31

WAO 2025: register now

The?14th international?Workshop on Accelerator Operations?will take place on Sept. 22-26 in?Saskatoon. Register now and submit an abstract by July 15

Canadian synchrotron community long-range plan

The Canadian Institute for Synchrotron Radiation (CISR) and the CLS are collaborating to develop a plan to serve the future needs of the Canadian synchrotron radiation community. Information about the Long-Range Plan process can be found at the link below, including an opportunity to sign up to be a participant in the process. Participate?

We're hiring!?

Submit an application to join our team.

• Associate Scientist or Scientist (SGM Beamline)
• Education Specialist – Indigenous Relations
• Electrical Engineer
• Human Resources Projects Assistant (Summer Student)
• Project Manager
• Software Developer – Data Acquisition

Featured papers of the month

• Xiaoman Duan, Xiao Fan Ding, Samira Khoz, Xiongbiao Chen, Ning Zhu, 2025 Development of A deep Learning-based algorithm for High-Pitch helical computed tomography imaging, Expert Systems with Applications, https://doi.org/10.1016/j.eswa.2024.125663,?BMIT
• M Pushie at al., X-ray Fluorescence Mapping of Brain Tissue Reveals the Profound Extent of Trace Element Dysregulation in Stroke Pathophysiology, (2024) Special Issue on Neurometallomics in Metallomics,?https://doi.org/10.1093/mtomcs/mfae054,?BioXAS and Mid-IR
• Beatriz Miranda-Zaragoza at al., (2025) Structure-Function Relationship of the β-Hairpin of Thermus thermophilus HB27 Laccase, International Journal of Molecular Science, 26,?https://doi.org/10.3390/ijms26020735,?CMCF
• Liu, Cheng; Yang, Yi; Chen, Hao; Xu, Jian; Liu, Ao et al. (2023).?Bimolecularly passivated interface enables efficient and stable inverted perovskite solar cells.?Science 382(6672) , 810-815.?10.1126/science.adk1633.?BXDS-WLE
• Wang, Junke; Zeng, Lewei; Zhang, Dong; Maxwell, Aidan; Chen, Hao et al. (2023).?Halide homogenization for low energy loss in 2-eV-bandgap perovskites and increased efficiency in all-perovskite triple-junction solar cells.?Nature Energy.?10.1038/s41560-023-01406-5.?BXDS-WLE
• Dong, Fang; Wu, Mingjie; Chen, Zhangsen; Chen, Ning; Bakhtbidar, Mohammad et al. (2024).?In Situ Reconstruction of Bimetallic Heterojunctions Encapsulated in N/P Co-Doped Carbon Nanotubes for Long-life Rechargeable Zinc-Air Batteries.?Nano Energy , 110497.?10.1016/j.nanoen.2024.110497.?HXMA
• Ma, Jinjin; Sun, Yipeng; Wu, Duojie; Wang, Changhong; Yu, Ruizhi et al. (2024).?Highly Stabilized Ni‐Rich Cathodes Enabled by Artificially Reversing Naturally‐Formed Interface.?Advanced Energy Materials.?10.1002/aenm.202403150.?SM, SXRMB
• Li, Weihan; Li, Minsi; Wang, Shuo; Chien, Po-Hsiu; Luo, Jing et al. (2024).?Superionic conducting vacancy-rich β-Li3N electrolyte for stable cycling of all-solid-state lithium metal batteries.?Nature Physics.?10.1038/s41565-024-01813-z.?SGM, SM, SXRMB, VESPERS, BXDS
• You, Insang; Singh, Baltej; Cui, Mengyang; Goward, Gillian; Qian, Lanting et al. (2025).?A facile route to plastic inorganic electrolytes for all-solid state batteries based on molecular design.?Energy and Environmental Science 18(1), 478-491.?10.1039/d4ee03944k.?BXDS-WHE, SGM
• Arthur, E., & Grosvenor, A. P. (2025). The study of multi-phase rare-earth phosphate-borosilicate glass composites synthesized by the ceramic method via a 1-step pathway. Journal of Non-Crystalline Solids, 650, 123368. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jnoncrysol.2024.123368 VLS-PGM, CLS@APS
• Dor, M., Regier, T., Arthur, Z., Guber, A. K., & Kravchenko, A. N. (2025). Micro-scale mapping of soil organic carbon using soft X-ray spectromicroscopy. Environmental Chemistry Letters, 1-6. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10311-024-01817-0 SGM