AI Discovers New Nanostructures

UPTON, NY—Scientists at the U.S. Department of Energy’s (DOE) Brookhaven National Laboratory have successfully demonstrated that autonomous methods can discover new materials. The artificial intelligence (AI)-driven technique led to the discovery of three new nanostructures, including a first-of-its-kind nanoscale “ladder.

Next-Gen Semiconductor Manufacturing Tech Wins DOE National Pitch Competition

A process for making hybrid organic-inorganic materials (photoresists) sensitive to extreme-ultraviolet (EUV) light is one of two technologies that won the 2021 National Labs Accelerator Pitch Event. This technology—developed at the Center for Functional Nanomaterials (CFN), a U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) Office of Science User Facility at Brookhaven National Laboratory—could be used for next-generation semiconductor manufacturing by EUV lithography.

Zhongwei Dai: Exploring the Strange Quantum World of 2D Materials

Zhongwei Dai, a researcher in the Interface Science and Catalysis Group of the Center for Functional Nanomaterials, probes the properties of atomically thin materials to identify promising candidates for quantum information science applications

Brookhaven Lab and Euclid Techlabs to Develop Coated Cathodes for Electron-Ion Collider

The protective coatings are intended to extend the lifetime of the materials for applications in nuclear physics facilities.

Toward Scaling Up Nanocages to Trap Noble Gases

Commercially available materials may be a potentially scalable platform for trapping gases for nuclear energy and other applications.

Layered Graphene with a Twist Displays Unique Quantum Confinement in 2-D

Bilayer graphene with one of the two layers twisted displayed unique resonant electronic behavior. Understanding how electrons move in such 2-D materials could shed light on how to manipulate them for quantum computing and communication.

Tracking Pileups on Battery Charging Route to Drive Performance

An understanding of this mechanism could help scientists increase the total amount of energy stored by next-generation lithium-ion batteries.

Shih-Ting (Christine) Wang: Designing Materials for Biomedicine

Using DNA-based assembly, the Center for Functional Nanomaterials postdoc has assembled functional proteins into ordered lattices and coated nanostructures for drug delivery.

Automatically Steering Experiments Toward Scientific Discovery

Scientists at Brookhaven and Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratories have been developing an automated experimental setup of data collection, analysis, and decision making.

Capturing the Chemistry of Light-Activated Cancer Drugs with Ruomei Gao

Ruomei Gao—an associate professor at SUNY College at Old Westbury—has been using facilities at the Center for Functional Nanomaterials at Brookhaven Lab to investigate two primary processes of photosensitization for cancer therapy and prevention.

Scientists Discover New Approach to Stabilize Cathode Materials

UPTON, NY—A team of researchers led by chemists at the U.S. Department of Energy’s (DOE) Brookhaven National Laboratory has studied an elusive property in cathode materials, called a valence gradient, to understand its effect on battery performance. The findings, published in Nature Communications, demonstrated that the valence gradient can serve as a new approach for stabilizing the structure of high-nickel-content cathodes against degradation and safety issues.

New Dual-Beam Microscope Installed at the Center for Functional Nanomaterials

This latest-generation tool, which combines a scanning electron microscope and focused-ion beam, has advanced capabilities for preparing and analyzing nanomaterial samples.

Fighting Cancer with DNA Origami

Scientists have devised a new way to build nanomaterials that can maintain their structural integrity and functionality in ways relevant to drug delivery. The team developed a class of molecular coatings compatible with biological environments. They used these coating to stabilize wireframed DNA origami cages that can carry an anticancer drug with a slower release of the medicine over time than possible with noncoated counterparts.

Designing Materials from First Principles with Yuan Ping

The UC Santa Cruz professor uses computing resources at Brookhaven Lab’s Center for Functional Nanomaterials to run calculations for quantum information science, spintronics, and energy research.

Nikhil Tiwale: Practicing the Art of Nanofabrication

Applying his passions for science and art, Nikhil Tiwale—a postdoc at Brookhaven Lab’s Center for Functional Nanomaterials—is fabricating new microelectronics components.

Exploring Blended Materials Along Compositional Gradients

A new platform could accelerate the development of blended materials with desired properties.

Making 3-D Nanosuperconductors with DNA

Scientists developed a platform for making 3-D superconducting nano-architectures with a prescribed organization.

Automating 2-D Material Exfoliation with Suji Park

Park, a staff researcher at Brookhaven Lab’s Center for Functional Nanomaterials, is designing and building an automated system to generate high-quality ultrathin “flakes,” which can be stacked into layered structures that are essentially new materials.

At the Interface of Organic Chemistry and Nanotechnology with Adam Braunschweig

Adam Braunschweig—a CUNY ASRC associate professor—is a user at Brookhaven Lab’s Center for Functional Nanomaterials (CFN) studying how molecules in organic semiconductor thin films pack together.

Peering into Functioning Batteries with Sooyeon Hwang

Using electron microscopes, Hwang—a materials scientist at Brookhaven Lab’s Center for Functional Nanomaterials (CFN)—characterizes the structure and chemistry of operating battery electrode materials.

CFN User Spotlight: Nik Singh Seeks Better Battery Materials

Since 2011, Nikhilendra (Nik) Singh has been a senior scientist in the Materials Research Department at the Toyota Research Institute of North America. His quest to find alternatives to lithium-ion batteries has brought him to Brookhaven Lab’s Center for Functional Nanomaterials (CFN).

CFN Staff Spotlight: Xiaohui Qu Bridges the Data Science-Materials Science Gap

As a staff member in the Theory and Computation Group at Brookhaven Lab’s Center for Functional Nanomaterials, Qu applies various approaches in artificial intelligence to analyze experimental and computational nanoscience data.

Top-10 Science and Technology Achievements of 2019

In 2019, scientists at the U.S. Department of Energy’s (DOE) Brookhaven National Laboratory dove deeper into proton spin, took a leap in quantum communication, and uncovered new details of plant biochemistry, battery cathodes, catalysts, superconductors, and more. Here, in no particular order, are the biggest advances of the year.

Transforming Advanced Nanoscience Data into Interactive Art

A scientist, an artist, and a computer music professor combined 3-D printing, sound, and virtual reality to represent nanoscience data.