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UrduArgonne researchers have developed an artificial intelligence-based model to greatly speed up the process for engineering a low-cost catalyst that converts biomass into fuels and useful chemicals with many possible applications.
Tag: Materials Science
Neutrons reveal key to extraordinary heat transport
Warming a crystal of the mineral fresnoite, Oak Ridge National Laboratory scientists discovered that excitations called phasons carried heat three times farther and faster than phonons, the excitations that usually carry heat through a material.
New superalloy could cut carbon emissions from power plants
Researchers from Sandia National Laboratories have shown that a new 3D-printed superalloy could help power plants generate more electricity while producing less carbon.
New compound that withstands extreme heat and electricity could lead to next-generation energy storage devices
Society’s growing demand for high-voltage electrical technologies—including pulsed power systems, cars and electrified aircraft, and renewable energy applications—requires a new generation of capacitors that store and deliver large amounts of energy under intense thermal and electrical conditions. Researchers at Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory and Scripps Research have now developed a new polymer-based device that efficiently handles record amounts of energy while withstanding extreme temperatures and electric fields.
Microscopy Images Could Lead to New Ways to Control Excitons for Quantum Computing
Excitons are drawing attention as possible quantum bits (qubits) in tomorrow’s quantum computers and are central to optoelectronics and energy-harvesting processes. However, these charge-neutral quasiparticles, which exist in semiconductors and other materials, are notoriously difficult to confine and manipulate. Now, for the first time, Berkeley Lab researchers have created and directly observed highly localized excitons confined in simple stacks of atomically thin materials. The work confirms theoretical predictions and opens new avenues for controlling excitons with custom-built materials.
AAAS elects three ORNL scientists as fellows
Three scientists from the Department of Energy’s Oak Ridge National Laboratory have been elected fellows of the American Association for the Advancement of Science, or AAAS.
Three Argonne researchers inducted into AAAS
John Mitchell, Valerie Taylor and Lisa Utschig were selected by the American Association for the Advancement of Science (AAAS) to be inducted as fellows.
Story tips from the Department of Energy’s Oak Ridge National Laboratory, January 2023
Story tips: Shuffling the load, a reveille for more biomass, designer molecules may help valuable minerals float, ‘T’ molecules huddle around rare earth elements
Metal Alloys to Support to Nuclear Fusion Energy
Tungsten heavy alloys show promise for nuclear fusion energy development, according to new research conducted at PNNL.
Argonne announces 2022 Postdoctoral Performance Awards
Nine postdoctoral appointees were recognized with Postdoctoral Performance Awards.
Two technical breakthroughs make high-quality 2D materials possible
Researchers have been looking to replace silicon in electronics with materials that provide a higher performance and lower power consumption while also having scalability. An international team is addressing that need by developing a promising process to develop high-quality 2D materials that could power next-generation electronics.
UC Irvine scientists create new chemical imaging method
Irvine, Calif., Jan. 4, 2023 – A new visualization technology that captures spectral images of materials in the mid-infrared part of the electromagnetic spectrum has been developed by scientists at the University of California, Irvine. The discovery, which was recently featured on the cover of the journal Science Advances, promises to help researchers and industries across many fields, including medical and tech, quickly visualize the chemical composition of various materials or tissues.
Electronic bridge allows rapid energy sharing between semiconductors
As semiconductor devices become ever smaller, researchers are exploring two-dimensional materials for potential applications in transistors and optoelectronics. Controlling the flow of electricity and heat through these materials is key to their functionality, but first we need to understand the details of those behaviors at atomic scales. Now, researchers have discovered that electrons play a surprising role in how energy is transferred between layers of 2D semiconductor materials tungsten diselenide and tungsten disulfide.
Researchers discover new process to create freestanding membranes of ‘smart’ materials
A University of Minnesota Twin Cities-led team has developed a new method for making nano-membranes of “smart” materials, which will allow scientists to harness their unique properties for use in devices such as sensors and flexible electronics.
Scientists turn single molecule clockwise or counterclockwise on demand
Argonne scientists report they can precisely rotate a single molecule on demand. The key ingredient is a single atom of europium, a rare earth element. It rests at the center of a complex of other atoms and gives the molecule many practical applications.
The Donnan Potential, Revealed at Last
The Donnan electric potential arises from an imbalance of charges at the interface of a charged membrane and a liquid, and for more than a century it has stubbornly eluded direct measurement. Many researchers have even written off such a measurement as impossible. But that era, at last, has ended. With a tool that’s conventionally used to probe the chemical composition of materials, scientists at the Department of Energy’s Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory (Berkeley Lab) recently led the first direct measurement of the Donnan potential.
Army strong: Research teams join forces to invent weld wire for tank, infrastructure repair
The U.S. Departments of Energy and Defense teamed up to create a series of weld filler materials that could dramatically improve high-strength steel repair in vehicles, bridges and pipelines. This novel weld wire could help revitalize America’s aging infrastructures, which in 2021 received a C- grade from the American Society of Civil Engineers.
Executive Director of the HKIAS elected International Councilor of the American Physical Society
Professor Xun-Li Wang, Executive Director of the Hong Kong Institute for Advanced Study (HKIAS) and Chair Professor of the Department of Physics of City University of Hong Kong was elected International Councilor of the American Physical Society (APS).
Say Hello to the Toughest Material on Earth
Scientists have measured the highest toughness ever recorded, of any material, while investigating a metallic alloy made of chromium, cobalt, and nickel. Not only is the metal exceptionally strong and ductile, its properties become enhanced as it gets colder. This runs counter to most other materials in existence.
Fertilizing the Ocean to Store Carbon Dioxide
Iron-based fertilizer may stimulate plankton to pull carbon dioxide from the ocean, driving a carbon-negative process.
Nanoengineers Develop a Predictive Database for Materials
Nanoengineers at the University of California San Diego’s Jacobs School of Engineering have developed an AI algorithm that predicts the structure and dynamic properties of any material—whether existing or new—almost instantaneously. Known as M3GNet, the algorithm was used to develop matterverse.ai, a database of more than 31 million yet-to-be-synthesized materials with properties predicted by machine learning algorithms. Matterverse.ai facilitates the discovery of new technological materials with exceptional properties.
Global Leader in Materials Research Will Be New APL Materials Editor-in-Chief
AIP Publishing is pleased to announce the appointment of Dr. Bo Wang of the Beijing Institute of Technology as the new Editor-in-Chief of APL Materials. Wang will lead the journal as it expands to represent material science, materials chemistry, and materials physics more holistically.
Tracking Explosions with Toughened-Up Tracers
PNNL researchers created rugged, adaptable, mass-manufacturable luminescent particle tracers for use in harsh environments.
Materials Research Institute names 2022 Roy Award Winners
Seven Penn State materials researchers have received the 2022 Rustum and Della Roy Innovation in Materials Research Award.
Chang-Beom Eom awarded 2022 MRS David Turnbull Lectureship
The Materials Research Society (MRS) announced that Chang-Beom Eom, University of Wisconsin-Madison, has been honored with the 2022 David Turnbull Lectureship.
Scientists Build Nanoscale Parapets, Aqueducts, and Other Shapes
Scientists have developed a new way to guide the self-assembly of a wide range of novel nanoscale structures using simple layered block copolymers as starting materials.
Tiniest Ever Ancient Seawater Pockets Revealed
Ancient seawater pockets offer a new source of clues to climate change in vanished oceans and our own.
Advanced Light Source Upgrade Approved to Start Construction
Berkeley Lab’s ALS has received federal approval to begin construction on an upgrade that will boost the brightness of its X-ray beams at least a hundredfold. Scientists will use the improved beams for research into new materials, chemical reactions, and biological processes. This construction milestone enables the lab’s biggest project in three decades to move from planning to execution.
Jenny Nelson named Fred Kavli Distinguished Lecturer in Materials Science at 2022 MRS Fall Meeting & Exhibit
WARRENDALE, PA—The Materials Research Society (MRS) announced that Jenny Nelson, Imperial College London, has been selected for the Fred Kavli Distinguished Lectureship in Materials Science for the 2022 MRS Fall Meeting & Exhibit in Boston, Massachusetts. Nelson was selected by the 2022 MRS Fall Meeting Chairs.
Efficient nanovaccine delivery system boosts cellular immunity
Cancer immunotherapies, such as immune checkpoint inhibition therapy, have been attracting attention in recent years as new methods for treating cancer.
Building with nanoparticles, from the bottom up
Researchers at MIT have developed a technique for precisely controlling the arrangement and placement of nanoparticles on a material, like the silicon used for computer chips, in a way that does not damage or contaminate the surface of the material.
Joining Forces: Fast-as-lightning 3D Microprinting with Two Lasers
Printing objects from plastic precisely, quickly, and inexpensively is the goal of many 3D printing processes. However, speed and high resolution remain a technological challenge. A research team from the Karlsruhe Institute of Technology (KIT), Heidelberg University, and the Queensland University of Technology (QUT) has come a long way toward achieving this goal. It developed a laser printing process that can print micrometer-sized parts in the blink of an eye. The international team published the work in Nature Photonics. (DOI: 10.1038/s41566-022-01081-0)
Boron Nitride with a Twist Could Lead to New Way to Make Qubits
Achieving scalability in quantum processors, sensors, and networks requires novel devices that are easily manipulated between two quantum states. A team led by Berkeley Lab researchers has developed a method, using a solid-state “twisted” crystalline layered material, which gives rise to tiny light-emitting points that can be switched on and off with the simple application of an external voltage. The research could lead to a new way to make quantum bits, or qubits, which encode information in quantum computers.
Scientists chip away at a metallic mystery, one atom at a time
Based at Sandia National Laboratories, a team of scientists believes the key to preventing large-scale, catastrophic failures in bridges, airplanes and power plants is to look — very closely — at damage as it first appears at the atomic and nanoscale levels.
Engineers discover new process for synthetic material growth, enabling soft robots that grow like plants
An interdisciplinary team of University of Minnesota Twin Cities researchers has developed a new, plant-inspired extrusion process that enables synthetic material growth, and the creation of a soft robot that builds its own solid body from liquid to navigate hard-to-reach places and complicated terrain.
Atomic-Scale Imaging Reveals a Facile Route to Crystal Formation
New research from PNNL sheds light on how crystals form using atomic force microscopy.
Water-based gel to be tested as dressing for diabetic wounds
In early experiments, Jianjun Guan and his team found that after applying a single dose of their wound dressing into wounds in young diabetic mice, the wounds completely closed at day 14. Wounds that were treated only with the hydrogel or were untreated were reduced to roughly half of their original size.
NSLS-II Researchers Win 2022 Microscopy Today Innovation Award
UPTON, NY On Aug. 3, 2022, scientists at the U.S. Department of Energy’s (DOE) Brookhaven National Laboratory received the 2022 Microscopy Today Innovation Award for their development of a system with bonded x-ray lenses that make nanoscale resolution more accessible than ever before. When the team at the National Synchrotron Light Source II (NSLS-II), a DOE Office of Science user facility, tested the new lens system, they achieved a resolution down to approx.
Researchers reveal origin of ultrafast mystery signals in valleytronic materials
Tiny materials hold big mysteries, the solutions to which could bring about next-generation electronics.
Jaime Marian: Then and Now / 2012 Early Career Award Winner
Jaime Marian is a professor at UCLA in the Department of Materials Science and Engineering, studying irradiation to develop materials and improve fusion reactor designs.
Stickers and a smartphone for easy nitrite detection on foods
Researchers reporting in ACS Applied Materials & Interfaces have developed a color-changing film that consumers can stick onto foods and easily analyze nitrite levels by snapping a picture with a smartphone.
Magnetic quantum material broadens platform for probing next-gen information technologies
Scientists at Oak Ridge National Laboratory used neutron scattering to find the first 2D system to host a spiral spin liquid.
Greener Air-Conditioning for a Warmer World
Air-conditioning needs an energy overhaul—PNNL research provides a roadmap to get there using energy efficient adsorption cooling.
New Record For Modeling Atoms Smashes Previously Held Record Number By Factor of 10
A new record has been set by researchers at the Oden Institute for Computational Engineering and Sciences for calculating the energy distribution function, or “density of states,” for over 100,000 silicon atoms, a first in computational materials science.
Underwater glove puts octopus’ abilities on the hand of humans
Humans aren’t naturally equipped to thrive underwater. There are critical times when this becomes a liability. Rescue divers, underwater archeologists, bridge engineers, and salvage crews all use their hands to extract people and objects from water, and some of those removals suffer damage if subjected to an iron grip. Researchers at Virginia Tech working to solve this problem have developed an octopus-inspired glove capable of securely gripping objects underwater. They call it: Octa-glove.
These energy-packed batteries work well in extreme cold and heat
Researchers developed lithium-ion batteries that perform well at freezing cold and scorching hot temperatures, while packing a lot of energy. This could help electric cars travel farther on a single charge in the cold and reduce the need for cooling systems for the cars’ batteries in hot climates.
Cooking Up a Conductive Alternative to Copper with Aluminum
The first-ever simulation of aluminum conductivity offers a recipe for an inexpensive, lightweight alternative to copper.
Press registration opens for the hybrid ACS Fall 2022 meeting
The American Chemical Society’s ACS Fall 2022 will be held virtually and in Chicago Aug. 21–25 with the theme “Sustainability in a Changing World.” ACS considers requests for press credentials and complimentary meeting registration from reporters and public information officers at selected institutions.
New Ultrathin Capacitor Could Enable Energy-Efficient Microchips
Scientists at Berkeley Lab and UC Berkeley have developed a thin film from a century-old material for next-gen memory and logic devices. The breakthrough advances the pursuit of low-voltage electronics that require less energy to operate than today’s silicon-based electronics.
Exploring New Materials Through Collaboration
Materials Scientist Jim De Yoreo guides a team that develops novel materials and understands how they form through collaboration and mentorship.