The ALBA Synchrotron

ALBA is the Spanish synchrotron light source. It is a complex of electron accelerators to produce synchrotron light, which allows visualization and analysis of matter and its properties at atomic and molecular levels.
ALBA is in operation since May 2012 and nowadays has eight beamlines where experiments in different scientific fields are performed: physics, chemistry, life sciences, materials science, cultural heritage, biology, nanotechnology. Four new beamlines are in construction, at different level of advancement.
This scientific infrastructure produces about 5,000 hours of beamtime per year and per beamline and is available for the academic and the industrial sector, giving service to more than 1,800 researchers every year.

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Latest additions:
2026-01-15
19:10
15 p, 2.5 MB Enhanced electrocatalytic hydrogen evolution with bimetallic Ru/Pt nanoparticles supported on nitrogen-doped reduced graphene oxide / Hou, Heting (Universitat Autònoma de Barcelona. Departament de Química) ; Cerezo-Navarrete, Christian (Universitat Politècnica de València) ; Fenoll, Didac A. (Universitat Autònoma de Barcelona. Departament de Química) ; Kraft, Matilda (Universitat Autònoma de Barcelona. Departament de Química) ; Marini, Carlo (Laboratori de Llum del Sincrotró ALBA) ; Rodríguez Santiago, Luis (Universitat Autònoma de Barcelona. Departament de Química) ; Solans Monfort, Xavier (Universitat Autònoma de Barcelona. Departament de Química) ; Martínez-Prieto, Luis Miguel (Universidad de Sevilla) ; Romero Fernández, Nuria (Universitat Autònoma de Barcelona. Departament de Química) ; García-Antón, Jordi (Universitat Autònoma de Barcelona. Departament de Química) ; Sala Román, Xavier (Universitat Autònoma de Barcelona. Departament de Química)
The electrocatalytic hydrogen evolution reaction (HER) has been explored using mono- and bimetallic Pt-Ru nanoparticles (NPs) deposited onto nitrogen-doped reduced graphene oxide (NH2-rGO) in acidic media. [...]
2025 - 10.1039/d5qi00451a
Inorganic Chemistry Frontiers, Vol. 12, Num. 15 (May 2025) , p. 4569-4582  
2026-01-15
18:10
32 p, 2.0 MB Influence of a plant biostimulant on the uptake, distribution and speciation of Se in Se-enriched wheat (Triticum aestivum L. cv. Pinzón) / Xiao, Tingting (Universitat Autònoma de Barcelona. Departament de Química) ; Boada, Roberto (Universitat Autònoma de Barcelona. Departament de Química) ; Marini, Carlo (Laboratori de Llum del Sincrotró ALBA) ; Llugany i Ollé, Mercè (Universitat Autònoma de Barcelona. Departament de Biologia Animal, de Biologia Vegetal i d'Ecologia) ; Valiente Malmagro, Manuel (Universitat Autònoma de Barcelona. Departament de Química)
Aim: Selenium (Se) can induce stress in plants. Our main purpose is to assess the effect of a biostimulant, based on hetero-polyoxometalates mixed with humic acids, on Se bio-fortified wheat plants. [...]
2020 - 10.1007/s11104-020-04686-y
Plant and soil, Vol. 455, Num. 1-2 (October 2020) , p. 409-423  
2025-12-17
10:54
13 p, 7.7 MB Synchrotron-based infrared microspectroscopy study on the biomolecular impact of carbon minibeam radiation therapy on a mouse osteosarcoma cell line / González Vegas, Roberto (Universitat Autònoma de Barcelona. Departament de Física) ; Cots Costa, Martina (Universitat Autònoma de Barcelona. Departament de Física) ; Gilbert, Cristele (Institut Curie) ; Bertho, Annaïg (Institut Curie) ; Seksek, Olivier (Université Paris-Saclay) ; Graeff, Christian (GSI Helmholtzzentrum für Schwerionenforschung) ; Sokol, Olga (GSI Helmholtzzentrum für Schwerionenforschung) ; Tinganelli, Walter (GSI Helmholtzzentrum für Schwerionenforschung) ; Prezado, Yolanda (Institut Curie) ; Yousef, Ibraheem (Laboratori de Llum del Sincrotró ALBA) ; Martínez-Rovira, Immaculada (Universitat Autònoma de Barcelona. Departament de Física)
Carbon minibeam radiation therapy (CMBRT) is a novel oncology treatment modality that combines the superior radiobiological properties of carbon ions with the remarkable tissue-sparing effects of spatial dose fractionation. [...]
2026 - 10.1016/j.infrared.2025.106247
Infrared Physics and Technology, Vol. 152 (January 2026) , art. 106247  
2025-11-13
14:53
37 p, 4.2 MB Mechanistic Insights and Technical Challenges in Sulfur-Based Batteries : A Comprehensive In Situ/Operando Monitoring Toolbox / Yu, Jing (Institut de Recerca en Energia de Catalunya) ; Pinto-Huguet, Ivan (Institut Català de Nanociència i Nanotecnologia) ; Zhang, Chao Yue (Lanzhou University) ; Zhou, Yingtang (Zhejiang Ocean University) ; Xu, Yaolin (Helmholtz-Zentrum Berlin für Materialien und Energie) ; Vizintin, Alen (National Institute of Chemistry) ; Velasco-Vélez, Juan-Jesús (Laboratori de Llum del Sincrotró ALBA) ; Qi, Xueqiang (Chongqing University of Technology) ; Pan, Xiaobo (Lanzhou University) ; Oney, Gozde (Univ. Grenoble Alpes) ; Olgo, Annabel (Univ. Grenoble Alpes) ; Märker, Katharina (Univ. Grenoble Alpes) ; M. Da Silva, Leonardo (Federal University of Jequitinhonha e Mucuri) ; Luo, Yufeng (Hong Kong Polytechnic University) ; Lu, Yan (Helmholtz-Zentrum Berlin für Materialien und Energie) ; Huang, Chen (Universitat de Barcelona) ; Härk, Eneli (Helmholtz-Zentrum Berlin für Materialien und Energie) ; Fleming, Joe (Coventry University) ; Chenevier, Pascale (Univ. Grenoble Alpes) ; Cabot i Codina, Andreu (Institut de Recerca en Energia de Catalunya) ; Bai, Yunfei (Lanzhou University) ; Botifoll, Marc (Institut Català de Nanociència i Nanotecnologia) ; Black Serra, Ashley Phillip (Institut de Ciència de Materials de Barcelona) ; An, Qi (Yunnan University) ; Amietszajew, Tazdin (Coventry University) ; Arbiol i Cobos, Jordi (Institut Català de Nanociència i Nanotecnologia)
Batteries based on sulfur cathodes offer a promising energy storage solution due to their potential for high performance, cost-effectiveness, and sustainability. However, commercial viability is challenged by issues such as polysulfide migration, volume changes, uneven phase nucleation, limited ion transport, and sluggish sulfur redox kinetics. [...]
2024 - 10.1021/acsenergylett.4c02703
ACS energy letters, Vol. 9, Issue 12 (December 2024) , p. 6178-6214  
2025-11-11
15:45
15 p, 5.6 MB Promoting Electrochemical Reactions with Dual-Atom Catalysts for High-Rate Lithium-Sulfur Batteries / Yu, Jing (Institut Català de Nanociència i Nanotecnologia) ; Usoltsev, Oleg (Laboratori de Llum del Sincrotró ALBA) ; Martynova, Irina (Institut de Recerca en Energia de Catalunya) ; Huang, Chen (Universitat de Barcelona) ; Liang, Zhifu (College of Ocean Science and Engineering. Shanghai Maritime University) ; Pinto-Huguet, Ivan (Institut Català de Nanociència i Nanotecnologia) ; Li, Canhuang (Institut de Recerca en Energia de Catalunya) ; Lu, Liqiang (Helmholtz-Zentrum Berlin für Materialien und Energie) ; Zhang, Chaoqi (Fuzhou University) ; Lu, Xuan (Institut de Recerca en Energia de Catalunya) ; Gupta, Kapil (Institut Català de Nanociència i Nanotecnologia) ; Botifoll, Marc (Institut Català de Nanociència i Nanotecnologia) ; Simonelli, Laura (Laboratori de Llum del Sincrotró ALBA) ; Fauth, François (Laboratori de Llum del Sincrotró ALBA) ; Zhou, Jin Yuan (Lanzhou University) ; Llorca, Jordi (Universitat Politècnica de Catalunya) ; Lu, Yan (Helmholtz-Zentrum Berlin für Materialien und Energie) ; Zhang, Chao Yue (University of California) ; Arbiol i Cobos, Jordi (Institut Català de Nanociència i Nanotecnologia) ; Cabot i Codina, Andreu (Institut de Recerca en Energia de Catalunya)
Sulfur cathodes offer a promising solution for high-energy-density, cost-effective, and sustainable energy storage. However, their practical application is limited by sluggish and complex multistep sulfur redox reactions (SRRs), involving both electrochemical and chemical processes. [...]
2025 - 10.1002/adma.202511345
Advanced materials, (September 2025) , art. e11345  
2025-10-21
06:05
12 p, 2.5 MB Tuning Li occupancy and local structures for advanced Co-free Ni-rich positive electrodes / Li, Hang (Institute for Applied Materials) ; Liu, Hao (Institute for Applied Materials) ; Luo, Shunrui (Institut Català de Nanociència i Nanotecnologia) ; Arbiol i Cobos, Jordi (Institut Català de Nanociència i Nanotecnologia) ; Suard, Emmanuelle (Institute Laue-Langevin) ; Bergfeldt, Thomas (Institute for Applied Materials) ; Missyul, Alexander (Laboratori de Llum del Sincrotró ALBA) ; Baran, Volodymyr (Deutsches Elektronen-Synchrotron) ; Mangold, Stefan (Institute for Photon Science and Synchrotron Radiation) ; Zhang, Yongchao (Institut Català de Nanociència i Nanotecnologia) ; Hua, Weibo (Xi'an Jiaotong University) ; Knapp, Michael (Institute for Applied Materials) ; Ehrenberg, Helmut (Institute for Applied Materials) ; Pan, Feng (Peking University Shenzhen Graduate School) ; Indris, Sylvio (Université Mohammed VI Polytechnique)
Structure evolution and surface reactivity have long been regarded as the most crucial points for studying Ni-rich positive electrodes for Li-ion batteries. Unfortunately, the influence of Li occupancy as a single factor on electro-chemomechanical stability has been overlooked and is missing, owing to the challenge of Li determination in the lattice. [...]
2025 - 10.1038/s41467-025-57063-7
Nature communications, Vol. 16 (March 2025) , art. 2203  
2025-09-30
07:39
12 p, 7.3 MB Merging and Clipping Nets for the Synthesis of Three- and Two-Merged Net Metal-Organic Frameworks / Yang, Yunhui (Institut Català de Nanociència i Nanotecnologia) ; Fernández-Seriñán, Pilar (Universitat Autònoma de Barcelona. Departament de Química) ; Ortín-Rubio, Borja (Institut Català de Nanociència i Nanotecnologia) ; Samanta, Partha (Universitat Autònoma de Barcelona. Departament de Química) ; Gándara, Felipe (Instituto de Ciencia de Materiales de Madrid) ; Proserpio, Davide M. (Università degli Studi di Milano) ; Nam, Dongsik (Institut Català de Nanociència i Nanotecnologia) ; Juanhuix, Judith (Laboratori de Llum del Sincrotró ALBA) ; Imaz, Inhar (Universitat Autònoma de Barcelona. Departament de Química) ; Maspoch Comamala, Daniel (Institut Català de Nanociència i Nanotecnologia)
Herein, we report how merging and clipping nets in metal-organic frameworks (MOFs) can be controlled in a single-crystal-to-single-crystal fashion using three different approaches-the merged net, clip-off chemistry, and linker reinstallation-to design and synthesize three- and two-merged net MOFs. [...]
2025 - 10.1021/jacs.4c15936
Journal of the American Chemical Society, Vol. 147, Issue 1 (January 2025) , p. 1344-1355  
2025-09-23
02:28
7 p, 3.4 MB Isolation of the Secondary Building Unit of a 3D Metal-Organic Framework through Clip-Off Chemistry, and Its Reuse To Synthesize New Frameworks by Dynamic Covalent Chemistry / Nam, Dongsik (Institut Català de Nanociència i Nanotecnologia) ; Albalad Alcala, Jorge (Universitat Autònoma de Barcelona. Departament de Química) ; Sánchez Naya, Roberto (Universitat Autònoma de Barcelona. Departament de Química) ; Ruiz-Relaño, Sara (Universitat Autònoma de Barcelona. Departament de Química) ; Cortés-Martínez, Alba (Institut Català de Nanociència i Nanotecnologia) ; Yang, Yunhui (Institut Català de Nanociència i Nanotecnologia) ; Juanhuix, Judith (Laboratori de Llum del Sincrotró ALBA) ; Imaz, Inhar (Institut Català de Nanociència i Nanotecnologia) ; Maspoch Comamala, Daniel (Institut Català de Nanociència i Nanotecnologia)
Herein, we present a novel methodology for synthesizing metal clusters or secondary building units (SBUs) that are subsequently employed to construct innovative metal-organic frameworks (MOFs) via dynamic covalent chemistry. [...]
2024 - 10.1021/jacs.4c09077
Journal of the American Chemical Society, Vol. 146, Issue 40 (September 2024) , p. 27255-27261  
2025-06-30
14:57
14 p, 7.2 MB Trace elements, maturation processes and diagenesis in human deciduous incisors / Martirosyan, Ani (Universitat Autònoma de Barcelona. Departament de Biologia Animal, de Biologia Vegetal i d'Ecologia) ; Jordana Comín, Xavier (Universitat Autònoma de Barcelona. Departament de Biologia Animal, de Biologia Vegetal i d'Ecologia) ; Juanhuix, Judith (Laboratori de Llum del Sincrotró ALBA) ; Cotte, Marine (European Synchrotron Radiation Facility) ; Molist, Núria (Museu d'Arqueologia de Catalunya) ; Irurita Olivares, Javier (Universidad de Granada. Departamento de Medicina Legal, Toxicología y Antropología Física) ; Pereira dos Santos, Cristina Maria (Universitat Autònoma de Barcelona. Departament de Biologia Animal, de Biologia Vegetal i d'Ecologia) ; Malgosa Morera, Assumpció (Universitat Autònoma de Barcelona. Departament de Biologia Animal, de Biologia Vegetal i d'Ecologia) ; Mahoney, Patrick (University of Kent) ; Molera, Judith (Universitat de Vic)
Post-mortem alteration of trace elements can complicate the interpretation of original biogenic signals related to diet, environment and enamel maturation processes. This study describes gradients in element concentrations for modern and archaeological deciduous incisor teeth to identify diagenetic variations in specific elements. [...]
2025 - 10.1016/j.jas.2025.106274
Journal of archaeological science, Vol. 180 (August 2025) ,art. 106274  
2025-06-06
09:33
12 p, 9.5 MB Electronic Structure Dimensionality of the Quantum-Critical Ferromagnet YbNi4 P2 / Dai, Ji (Laboratori de Llum del Sincrotró ALBA) ; Antezak, Alexandre (Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique. Université Paris-Saclay) ; Broad, W. (University of Bristol. HH Wills Physics Laboratory) ; Thees, Maximilian (Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique. Université Paris-Saclay) ; Zatko, V. (Institut Català de Nanociència i Nanotecnologia) ; Bouwmeester, Rosa Luca (University of Twente. MESA+ Institute for Nanotechnology) ; Fortuna, F. (Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique. Université Paris-Saclay) ; Le Fèvre, Patrick (Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique. Université de Rennes) ; Rault, J.E. (Synchrotron SOLEIL (France)) ; Horiba, K. (High Energy Accelerator Research Organization (KEK). Institute of Materials Structure Science (Japan)) ; Vyalikh, Denis (IKERBASQUE. Basque Foundation for Science) ; Kumigashira, Hiroshi (High Energy Accelerator Research Organization (KEK). Institute of Materials Structure Science (Japan)) ; Kliemt, Kristin (Goethe-Universität Frankfurt. Physikalisches Institut) ; Friedemann, Sven (University of Bristol. HH Wills Physics Laboratory) ; Krellner, Cornelius (Goethe-Universität Frankfurt. Physikalisches Institut) ; Frantzeskakis, Emmanouil (Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique. Université Paris-Saclay) ; Santander-Syro, A.F. (Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique. Université Paris-Saclay)
YbNi4P2 is the first known ferromagnetic metal showing a second-order quantum phase transition. Current theoretical understanding rules out second-order ferromagnetic quantum criticality in centrosymmetric two- and three-dimensional (2D and 3D) metals. [...]
2025 - 10.1103/PhysRevLett.134.126401
Physical review letters, Vol. 134, Issue 12 (March 2025) , art. 126401