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UrduA multidisciplinary team from the Department of Energy’s Oak Ridge National Laboratory has applied a laser-interference structuring technique that makes significant strides toward eliminating the need for hazardous chemicals for corrosion protection in military vehicles and aircraft systems.
Tag: Materials Science
Avoiding an Energy Cold Crunch with More Efficient Cooling
Covalent organic polymers can adsorb three times more refrigerant than the best available alternatives, resulting in more efficient cooling.
Finding a metal-oxide needle in a periodic table haystack
I went to Caltech, and all I got was this T-shirt … and a new way to discover complex and interesting materials.
After 20 years of trying, scientists succeed in doping a 1D chain of cuprates
After 20 years of trying, scientists doped a 1D copper oxide chain and found a surprisingly strong attraction between electrons that may factor into the material’s superconducting powers.
Riveting Technology Enables Lightweight Magnesium Fasteners for Fuel Efficiency
Rotational Hammer Riveting, developed by PNNL, joins dissimilar materials quickly without preheating rivets. The friction-based riveting enables use of lightweight magnesium rivets and also works on aluminum and speeds manufacturing.
When walked on, these wooden floors harvest enough energy to turn on a lightbulb
Researchers from Switzerland are tapping into an unexpected energy source right under our feet: wooden floorings.
Ferroelectrics everywhere?
A new family of ferroelectric materials that could potentially improve information and energy storage came about due to searching for ferroelectricity in places researchers never looked before.
Cao receives Young Investigator Award from American Chemical Society
Pengfei Cao, a polymer chemist at the Department of Energy’s Oak Ridge National Laboratory, has been chosen to receive a 2021 Young Investigator Award from the Polymeric Materials: Science and Engineering Division of the American Chemical Society.
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.
One scientist’s trash is another’s treasure:
While making materials samples to pursue their own research goals, scientists at the U.S. Department of Energy’s Ames Laboratory discovered that an unwanted byproduct of their experiments was an extremely high-quality and difficult-to-obtain substance sought after by scientists researching layered materials.
Phosphorescent material inspired by ‘glow in the dark’ wood
Scientists have harnessed the natural ability of wood to faintly glow to develop a new sustainable phosphorescent material that could potentially be used in a wide number of applications, from medical imaging and optical sensing to ‘glow in the dark’ dyes and paints.
One material with two functions could lead to faster memory
In a step toward a future of higher performance memory devices, researchers from National Taiwan Normal University and Kyushu University have developed a new device that needs only a single semiconductor known as perovskite to simultaneously store and visually transmit data.
Quantum Materials Cloak Thermal Radiation
Scientists demonstrated that ultrathin films of samarium nickel oxide can mask the thermal radiation emitted by hot materials. This is due to the material undergoing a gradual transition from insulator to conductor. This study shows that quantum materials such as samarium nickel oxide can manage thermal radiation with potential applications in infrared camouflage, privacy shielding, and heat transfer control.
Lighting the Way for Nanotube Innovation
Scientists have learned how to place crystalline defects in new materials with atomic-scale precision. This enables materials that can control excitons—energy carriers similar to subatomic particles. New research reveals how to create local energy wells that “capture” the excitons. This small but important step could lead to smaller, more efficient components for optical telecommunications.
Quantum Computing Enables Unprecedented Materials Science Simulations
Researchers have for the first time used a quantum computer to generate accurate results from materials science simulations that can be verified with practical techniques. Eventually, such simulations on quantum computers could be more accurate and complex than simulations on classical digital computers.
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.
“Greening” Biomaterials and Scaffolds Used in Regenerative Medicine
In the biomaterials industry, electrospinning is a ubiquitous fabrication method used to produce nano- to microscale fibrous meshes that closely resemble native tissue architecture. Alas, the process has traditionally used solvents that not only are environmentally hazardous but also a significant barrier to industrial scale-up, clinical translation, and widespread use. But now, Columbia Engineering researchers report that they have developed a “green electrospinning” process that addresses those challenges, from managing environmental risks of volatile solvent storage and disposal at large volumes to meeting health and safety standards during both fabrication and implementation.
AIME-TMS Anniversary Keynote Speakers Announced
Ten materials scientists and engineers named as AIME-TMS Anniversary Keynote Speakers. Talks made freely available online.
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.
FSU researchers discover pine sap-based plastic, a potential change for future of sustainable materials
Over the past 100 years, plastics and polymers have changed the way the world operates, from airplanes and automobiles to computers and cell phones — nearly all of which are composed of fossil fuel-based compounds. A Florida State University research team’s discovery of a new plastic derived from pine sap has the potential to be a gamechanger for new sustainable materials.
Michael S. Arnold: Then and Now / 2011 Early Career Award Winner
Supported by his Early Career Research Program Award, University of Wisconsin – Madison professor Michael S. Arnold found new ways to make graphene nanostructures with smooth edges. This technology will enable next-generation energy and electronics applications.
DOE Announces $73 Million for Research to Advance Quantum Science and Technology
The U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) announced $73 million in funding to advance quantum information science (QIS) research to help scientists better understand the physical world and harness nature to benefit people and society.
New Desiccant Material Performance Crushes Industry-Standard Material by up to 350%.
In what some industry insiders are calling “the most exciting news in the HVAC world in decades,” Molecule USA, Inc. announced today that their new desiccant material, Regeneration Optimized Sorbent, (a.k.a. ROS) outperformed silica rotors by up to 350% in benchmark testing.
Capturing Electrons in Space
Interstellar clouds are the birthplaces of new stars, but they also play an important role in the origins of life in the Universe through regions of dust and gas in which chemical compounds form.
Main Attraction: Scientists Create World’s Thinnest Magnet
Scientists at Berkeley Lab and UC Berkeley have created an ultrathin magnet that operates at room temperature. The ultrathin magnet could lead to new applications in computing and electronics – such as spintronic memory devices – and new tools for the study of quantum physics.
Emergent magnetic monopoles isolated using quantum-annealing computer
Using a D-Wave quantum-annealing computer as a testbed, scientists at Los Alamos National Laboratory have shown that it is possible to isolate so-called emergent magnetic monopoles, a class of quasiparticles, creating a new approach to developing “materials by design.”
Scientists take first snapshots of ultrafast switching in a quantum electronic device
Scientist demonstrated a new way of observing atoms as they move in a tiny quantum electronic switch as it operates. Along the way, they discovered a new material state that could pave the way for faster, more energy-efficient computing.
Calling all couch potatoes: this finger wrap can let you power electronics while you sleep
A new wearable device turns the touch of a finger into a source of power for small electronics and sensors. Engineers at the University of California San Diego developed a thin, flexible strip that can be worn on a fingertip and generate small amounts of electricity when a person’s finger sweats or presses on it. What’s special about this sweat-fueled device is that it generates power even while the wearer is asleep or sitting still.
Tiny but mighty precipitates toughen a structural alloy
Scientists at Oak Ridge National Laboratory and the University of Tennessee, Knoxville, have found a way to simultaneously increase the strength and ductility of an alloy by introducing tiny precipitates into its matrix and tuning their size and spacing.
Energy Technologies Move Closer to Commercial Use
Federal and industry-matched funding will move 11 PNNL technologies closer to commercialization where they will help bolster U.S. competitiveness.
Materials researcher honored with ACerS’s 2021 Orton Lectureship
The American Ceramics Society (ACerS) has selected Clive Randall, director of the Materials Research Institute and distinguished professor of materials science and engineering, to give the 2021 Edward Orton, Jr. Memorial Lecture at the 2021 ACerS’s Annual Meeting.
How to Make Lithium-ion Batteries Invincible
Berkeley Lab scientists have made significant progress in developing battery cathodes using a new class of materials that provide batteries with the same if not higher energy density than conventional lithium-ion batteries but can be made of inexpensive and abundant metals. Known as DRX, which stands for disordered rocksalts with excess lithium, this novel family of materials was invented less than 10 years ago and allows cathodes to be made without nickel or cobalt.
An Ally for Alloys
Machine learning techniques are accelerating the development of stronger alloys for power plants, which will yield efficiency, cost, and decarbonization benefits.
Internships Put Futures in Flight
PNNL intern Ki Ahn spent this past year as an undergraduate at PNNL gaining hands-on research experience in clean energy storage technologies for vehicles and aviation. Ahn is enrolling in Stanford University this fall to finish his bachelor’s degree. With plans to major in mechanical engineering or computer science, he wants to explore how future aircraft technologies can be designed to reduce harmful environmental effects.
A Keen Eye Behind the Microscope
PNNL’s Dongsheng Li’s crystal formation research helped reveal why nanoparticles sometimes self-assemble into five-sided shapes. The discovery will potentially be useful in medical research, electronics, and other applications.
Swiss-cheese design could help scientists harness the power of the sun
The big holes in Swiss cheese help make it a tasty treat. Now, scientists at PPPL are adding tiny, Swiss-cheese-type holes to components to improve the process of bringing to Earth the fusion energy that powers the sun and stars.
Graduate student finalists show their work during research elevator pitch competition
Penn State graduate students in materials science and materials engineering learn valuable career skills such as concise presentation of their research and win prizes during the 2021 Millennium Café PPG Elevator Pitch Competition on May 15 and May 18.
Two Henry Samueli School of Engineering scientists win DOE early career awards
Irvine, Calif., May 27, 2021 — The U.S. Department of Energy Office of Science has awarded funding to two University of California, Irvine scientists under its DOE Early Career Research Program. Mohammad Abdolhosseini Qomi, assistant professor of civil and environmental engineering, and Penghui Cao, assistant professor of mechanical and aerospace engineering, were among 83 researchers selected from university and national laboratory applicants to receive the research awards.
Scientists Earn Early Career Awards
The DOE Early Career Research Program supports exceptional researchers during the crucial early years of their careers and helps advance scientific discovery in fundamental sciences
Harvesting Light Like Nature Does
A new class of bio-inspired two-dimensional (2D) hybrid nanomaterials mimic the ability of photosynthetic plants and bacteria.
NUS scientists create a new type of intelligent material
Researchers from the National University of Singapore have created a new class of intelligent materials. It has the structure of a two-dimensional (2D) material, but behaves like an electrolyte – and could be a new way to deliver drugs within the body.
Clingy Copper Ions Contribute to Catalyst Slowdown
PNNL scientists, working with researchers at Washington State University and Tsinghua University, discovered a mechanism behind the decline in performance of an advanced copper-based catalyst. The team’s findings, featured on the cover of the journal ACS Catalysis, could aid the design of catalysts that work better and last longer during the NOx conversion process.
Energy for the Long Run
Physical chemist Marcel Baer brings meticulous care to understanding how energy moves through molecules.
ORNL’s Sergei Kalinin elected Fellow of the Microscopy Society of America
Sergei Kalinin, a scientist and inventor at the Department of Energy’s Oak Ridge National Laboratory, has been elected a Fellow of the Microscopy Society of America professional society.
A silver lining for extreme electronics
Tomorrow’s cutting-edge technology will need electronics that can tolerate extreme conditions. That’s why a group of researchers led by Michigan State University’s Jason Nicholas is building stronger circuits today. Nicholas and his team have developed more heat resilient silver circuitry with an assist from nickel. The team described the work, which was funded by the U.S. Department of Energy Solid Oxide Fuel Cell Program, on April 15 in the journal Scripta Materialia. The types of devices that the MSU team is working to benefit — next-generation fuel cells, high-temperature semiconductors and solid oxide electrolysis cells — could have applications in the auto, energy and aerospace industries.
The Future Looks Bright for Infinitely Recyclable Plastic
Plastics are ubiquitous, but they’re not practical. Less than 10% are recycled, and the other ~8 billion tons are creating a pollution crisis. A Berkeley Lab team is determined to change that. A new analysis shows producing and recycling their game-changing new plastic could be easy and cheap enough to leave old plastics in the dust.
MATERIALS RESEARCH SOCIETY FELLOW
David C. Martin, the Karl W. and Renate Böer Chaired Professor of Materials Science and Engineering, has been named a 2021 Fellow of the Materials Research Society (MRS) “for the design, synthesis, and characterization of conjugated polymers for interfacing electronic biomedical devices with living tissue; and for service to the MRS and broader materials community.”
Using sound waves to make patterns that never repeat
Mathematicians and engineers at the University of Utah have teamed up to show how ultrasound waves can organize carbon particles in water into a sort of pattern that never repeats. The results, they say, could result in materials called “quasicrystals” with custom magnetic or electrical properties.
This hydrogen fuel machine could be the ultimate guide to self improvement
Scientists at Berkeley have uncovered an extraordinary self-improving property that transforms an ordinary semiconductor into a highly efficient and stable artificial photosynthesis device
April Snapshots
Science Snapshots from Berkeley Lab: X-rays accelerate battery R&D; infrared microscopy goes off grid; substrates support 2D tech