Prof. Dr. Mona Mahmoud Abdel-Latif, Director of the City of Scientific Research and Technological Applications (SRTA-City), announced that a joint research team from Egypt (SRTA-City and the Atomic Energy Authority) and Italy has successfully established the fingerprint and crystal identity of three novel thermoelectric nanomaterials of high scientific importance. These compounds were officially registered in May 2025 in the database of the International Centre for Diffraction Data (ICDD) after being published in an international research paper. The ICDD, headquartered in the United States, is a leading international scientific organization known for issuing the Powder Diffraction File (PDF) for crystalline materials.

Prof. Dr. Mona Abdel-Latif emphasized that this achievement reflects the capabilities of SRTA-City’s research staff, supported by the city’s advanced facilities, in producing accurate and internationally recognized scientific data. These data serve as a trusted reference for researchers in universities and research institutions worldwide in fields such as materials technology, thermoelectric energy, and renewable energy. This milestone not only strengthens the city’s standing in global scientific databases but also opens new horizons for local and international research collaboration. Furthermore, it adds to the international record of achievements by Egyptian researchers.

The research team included:

• Prof. Dr. Abdelhady Basheer Qashout, Research Professor at the Department of Electronic Materials Research,
• Dr. Shaimaa Abdallah Nour El-Din Al-Yemeni, (responsible for communication, coordination, and registering the research product in the ICDD database), Assistant Research Professor at the Department of Electronic Materials Research, Institute of Advanced Technology and New Materials at SRTA-City,
• Dr. Ne’ma Gomaa Emam, Assistant Research Professor at the Nuclear Research Center – Atomic Energy Authority,
• From Trieste, Italy: Dr. Giuliana Aquilanti at the Synchrotron Center, and Dr. Humberto Cabrera at the Optics and Theoretical Physics Center.

Prof. Dr. Abdelhady Qashout highlighted that the Egyptian-Italian team succeeded in publishing their paper in the Journal of Materials Research and Technology, a prestigious Q1-ranked journal in Scopus published by Elsevier. The research focused on synthesizing three thermoelectric nanocompounds capable of converting thermal energy into electrical energy. These compounds demonstrated unique structural properties, leading ICDD officials, after a rigorous two-year review process, to add them to the globally recognized and exclusive ICDD Powder Diffraction File (PDF). This comprehensive database of diffraction data, used to identify and characterize materials, has been an essential tool for materials science research since 1937. He further explained that the distinctive crystal and morphological properties resulted from a fabrication method involving thermal melting inside a vacuum-sealed quartz tube, with controlled variations in the elemental ratios within the compound.

Dr. Shaimaa Abdallah Nour El-Din Al-Yemeni noted that registering the crystal identities of the three compounds in the international database reflects the production of original research outputs with strong application value. These findings contribute to advancing knowledge in solid-state physics, metals, and nanomaterials, with direct applications in both industry and scientific research—particularly in the fields of energy, nanotechnology, and advanced materials. In the industrial sector, specialists rely on the crystalline identities of these compounds as references for quality control and production, ensuring compliance with global standards. She added that such research outputs enrich both the scientific and academic landscape, as the ICDD database provides researchers worldwide with access to certified XRD data, facilitating comparisons with their own results and enabling precise phase identification. Researchers across the globe can use these data to develop new applications in key areas such as energy and electronic devices.