Lithium (Li) plays an important role in everyday life and can be found around us in nearly every aspect of modern living. One of the most common uses of lithium is in batteries. Lithium batteries can be found in cell phones, computers, electric vehicles, and every portable electronic device. With the demand for higher-capacity batteries, current battery production technology must improve, requiring better control of the elemental composition of the raw materials and components used. Atomic spectroscopic techniques, such as atomic absorption (AA), inductively coupled plasma optical emission spectrometry (ICP-OES), and inductively coupled plasma mass spectrometry (ICP-MS) are used for a variety of analyses in the Li supply chain and battery industry. In this podcast we will explore a range of applications where these analytical techniques are used to further improve battery performance and safety.
Improving Fluorescence and Raman Techniques for Environmental Microplastic Analysis
March 31st 2025A recent study conducted at the LaserLaB Amsterdam and Vrije Universiteit Amsterdam (the Netherlands) explored spectroscopic imaging techniques, including Raman and fluorescence microscopy, for characterizing microplastics (MPs), focusing on optimizing sample preparation, particularly density separation, and Nile Red staining.Spectroscopy spoke to Merel Konings, corresponding author of the paper resulting from the study, about her work
New Study Provides Insights into Chiral Smectic Phases
March 31st 2025Researchers from the Institute of Nuclear Physics Polish Academy of Sciences have unveiled new insights into the molecular arrangement of the 7HH6 compound’s smectic phases using X-ray diffraction (XRD) and infrared (IR) spectroscopy.