Category Archives: Miscellaneous

Publication – Characterisation of lithium ion batteries by ToF-SIMS and HAXPES

Posted on by

Another publication led by Abdul, resulting from his PhD work on the degradation of lithium ion battery electrodes exposed to different electroytes and charge/discharge cycles.

Characterization of Chemical Degradation in Lithium-Ion Batteries Using Secondary Ion Mass Spectrometry (SIMS) and Hard X-ray Photoelectron Spectroscopy (HAXPES).

Abdulrhman H. Alsaedi, Ben F. Spencer, Sadia Sheraz, Alex S. Walton & Nicholas P. Lockyer. ACS Omega 2025, 10, 47, 57607–57622. https://doi.org/10.1021/acsomega.5c08521


Publication – Materials characterisation for solid state battery

Posted on by

A collaborative study with University College London and the University of Oxford, where we contributed solid electrolyte characterisation by ToF-SIMS.

Saturating the Matrix: Nanocomposite Solution-Processed Sodium Aluminophosphate Solid Electrolytes.

Thomas E. Gill, Guillaume Matthews, Yaoguang Song, Mo El Maoued, Adam J. Lovett, Sadia Sheraz, Nicholas P. Lockyer, Amita Ummadisingu, Thomas S. Miller, and Alexander J. E. Rettie
ACS Applied Energy Materials 2025 8 (19), 14592-14600. DOI: 10.1021/acsaem.5c02284

 

Publication – Pesticide distribution in leaves measured by ToF-SIMS and MALDI-MSI

Posted on by

Our collaboration with Syngenta Ltd yields another publication led by Akhila.

Resolving agrochemical penetration in wheat leaves with secondary ion mass spectrometry imaging and depth profiling.
Akhila Ajith, Sadia Sheraz, Aline Xavier de Souza, Drupad K. Trivedi, Jean-Yves Mugnier, Giles N. Johnson, Phillip J. Milnes & Nicholas P. Lockyer. Anal Bioanal Chem 417, 6427–6437 (2025).
https://doi.org/10.1007/s00216-025-06134-1

Congratulations Dr Alsaedi!

Posted on by

Many congratulations to Abdul on the award of his PhD!  His thesis is entitled Characterisation of Battery Materials Using Surface Science Techniques and describes novel methods and results using ToF-SIMS and HAXPES to explore the interfacial chemistry of electrode materials.  Thanks to his External Examiner Prof Sven Schroeder from the University of Leeds. Abdul is currently Lecturer at the University of Jeddah.  Well done Abdul!

SIMS-24 Conference

Posted on by

It was a busy week at SIMS-24 in La Rochelle, France, with presentations from Abdul, Akhila, Matija, Alex and Nick.  Congratulations to the Co-Chairs Alain Brunelle, Jean-Paul Barnes and their teams for a great conference!

 

Nature Reviews Publication

Posted on by

Together with fellow SIMS experts from around the world we have published a new Primer ‘Secondary Ion Mass Spectrometry‘ in Nature Reviews Methods. The manuscript describes the operating principles of SIMS and outlines how the instrument geometry and operational parameters enable different modes of operation and information to be obtained. Applications, including materials science, surface science, electronic devices, geosciences and life sciences, are explored, finishing with an outlook for the technique.

You can view the formatted article here

New Collaboration: Multimodal Ion Beam Imaging facility

Posted on by

We are excited to announce a new collaboration with The Surrey Ion Beam Centre on a new £3m project ‘Multimodal 3D elemental and molecular imaging at the sub-micron scale‘ funded by the EPSRC.  The project, led by Prof Melanie Bailey at the University of Surrey, will be achieved.by combining MeV ion beam analysis (X rays, gamma rays, backscattered particles) and water cluster Secondary Ion Mass Spectrometry (SIMS) for the first time in a single instrument.

Happy 80th John!

Posted on by

We recently got together with some alumni and friends of the group to celebrate John Vickerman’s 80th Birthday with a meal and drinks in Manchester city centre.  It was great to catch up with everyone. Congratulations John!