Following the success of the first episode, NFFA-Europe releases the second chapter of its video series Stories of Collaboration that Drive Discovery. Each episode highlights real examples of scientific collaboration made possible through the NFFA-Europe research infrastructure, giving viewers a look behind the scenes of Europe’s world-class facilities.

The new episode, titled Nanocrystals in Focus: Collaborative Research at the Beamlines was filmed at the Graz University of Technology’s outstation at Elettra Sincrotrone Trieste in Italy - one of the host providers within the NFFA-Europe network. It showcases how access to multiple complementary techniques and cross-disciplinary collaboration empower researchers to explore and engineer materials at the nanoscale.

From Fabrication to Analysis: Two Complementary Beamlines

The episode introduces viewers to two advanced facilities operated by Graz University of Technology at Elettra: the Austrian SAXS (Small Angle X-ray Scattering) beamline, dedicated to studying the structure and evolution of nanomaterials, and the Deep X-ray Lithography beamline, where materials are fabricated and modified using high-energy X-rays.

Together, these beamlines illustrate NFFA-Europe’s multi-technique approach, which enables researchers to both create and characterise materials within the same coordinated infrastructure. This unique setup allows for deeper insights, faster progress, and more efficient experimental workflows.

Research in Motion: KU Leuven Scientists at Elettra

The episode follows two visiting researchers from KU Leuven, Dr. Bapi Pradhan and PhD student Peiran Wang, who carried out experiments at Elettra as part of their research on optoelectronic and light-emitting materials. Their work focuses on perovskite nanocrystals and thin-film semiconductors with potential applications in LEDs, lasers, and solar cells.

Through NFFA-Europe, the researchers gained access to state-of-the-art facilities and expert support, allowing them to investigate how nanocrystals evolve under different conditions and how their optical properties can be tuned through changes in size and composition.

As Dr. Pradhan explains in the video, “X-ray has been very useful to understand the materials’ properties as well as to improve their functionalities. NFFA-Europe has been phenomenal in supporting our scientific visits at these large-scale facilities.”

Building the Future of Nanoscience

Beyond the specific research, the video highlights the broader mission of NFFA-Europe: to provide coordinated access to a wide range of techniques - 590 state-of-the-art instruments across 17 European countries - and to promote FAIR (Findable, Accessible, Interoperable, and Reusable) data practices for transparent and reproducible science.

In the words of the video’s closing message: “At the crossroads of facilities, data and collaboration, NFFA-Europe empowers researchers to design their science with the full strength of Europe’s interoperable research infrastructures.”

Watch the Second Episode

Nanocrystals in Focus: Collaborative Research at the Beamlines offers a glimpse into the collaborative spirit and technological excellence that define the NFFA-Europe research infrastructure. The episode reveals how international mobility, shared expertise, and coordinated access to Europe’s most advanced tools are shaping the next generation of scientific discovery in the nanosciences and technologies. Click here for the second episode of our video series! (duration: approx. 8 minutes)