0000000000009400
AUTHOR
Martin Nielsen
Molecular scale structure and dynamics at an ionic liquid/electrode interface.
After a century of research, the potential-dependent ion distribution at electrode/electrolyte interfaces is still under debate. In particular for solvent-free electrolytes such as room-temperature ionic liquids, classical theories for the electrical double layer are not applicable. Using a combination of in situ high-energy X-ray reflectivity and impedance spectroscopy measurements, we determined this distribution with sub-molecular resolution. We find oscillatory charge density profiles consisting of alternating anion- and cation-enriched layers at both cathodic and anodic potentials. This structure is shown to arise from the same ion-ion correlations dominating the liquid bulk structure.…
Visualizing a protein quake with time-resolved X-ray scattering at a free-electron laser
We describe a method to measure ultrafast protein structural changes using time-resolved wide-angle X-ray scattering at an X-ray free-electron laser. We demonstrated this approach using multiphoton excitation of the Blastochloris viridis photosynthetic reaction center, observing an ultrafast global conformational change that arises within picoseconds and precedes the propagation of heat through the protein. This provides direct structural evidence for a 'protein quake': the hypothesis that proteins rapidly dissipate energy through quake-like structural motions. peerReviewed