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UrduMaterials scientists at PNNL are demonstrating materials with improved properties using solid phase processing.
Tag: Materials Science
Charges Cascading Along a Molecular Chain
Removing one charged molecule from a one-dimensional array causes the others to alternately turn ‘on’ or ‘off,’ paving the way for information transfer in tiny circuits
Brookhaven’s Ivan Bozovic Wins 2021 James C. McGroddy Prize for New Materials
The American Physical Society has selected physicist Ivan Bozovic of the U.S. Department of Energy’s Brookhaven National Laboratory as a co-recipient of the 2021 James C. McGroddy Prize for New Materials. Bozovic and his collaborators were recognized “For pioneering the atomic-layer-by-layer synthesis of new metastable complex-oxide materials, and the discovery of resulting novel phenomena.”
Making 3-D Nanosuperconductors with DNA
Scientists developed a platform for making 3-D superconducting nano-architectures with a prescribed organization.
Scientists use bacteria as micro-3D printers
A team at Aalto University has used bacteria to produce intricately designed three-dimensional objects made of nanocellulose. With their technique, the researchers are able to guide the growth of bacterial colonies through the use of strongly water repellent – or superhydrophobic – surfaces.
Liquid nanofoam could be a game changer for future football helmets
A liquid nanofoam liner undergoing testing could prolong the safe use of football helmets, says a Michigan State University researcher.
October 27, 2020 Web Feature Enabling the Data-Driven Future of Microscopy
An international research team led by PNNL has published a vision for electron microscopy infused with the latest advances in data science and artificial intelligence. Writing a commentary in Nature Materials, the team proposes a highly integrated, autonomous, and data-driven microscopy architecture to address challenges in energy storage, quantum information science, and materials design.
Promising Strategies for Durable Perovskite Solar Cells
Perovskite materials are increasingly popular as the active layer in solar cells, but internal forces in these materials cause distortions in their crystal structures, reducing symmetry and contributing to their intrinsic instability. Researchers at Soochow University examined the mechanisms at play, as well as several degradation factors that influence the performance of perovskite photovoltaics. In APL Materials, they clarified the factors influencing the degradation and they summarized some feasible approaches for durable perovskite photovoltaics.
On-surface synthesis of graphene nanoribbons could advance quantum devices
An international multi-institution team of scientists has synthesized graphene nanoribbons – ultrathin strips of carbon atoms – on a titanium dioxide surface using an atomically precise method that removes a barrier for custom-designed carbon nanostructures required for quantum information sciences.
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.
Expert: Why the discovery of a room-temperature superconductor is such huge news
UB’s Eva Zurek, a theoretical chemist, is an expert on high-pressure chemistry and the search for superconductors BUFFALO, N.Y. — After decades of hunting, scientists recently announced the discovery of a room-temperature superconductor — an elusive material that conveys electricity with…
Process to recover metals from batteries licensed by Momentum Technologies
Momentum Technologies Inc., a Dallas, Texas-based materials science company that is focused on extracting critical metals from electronic waste, has licensed an Oak Ridge National Laboratory process for recovering cobalt and other metals from spent lithium-ion batteries.
“Better” Copper Means Higher-Efficiency Electric Motors
Researchers at PNNL have increased the conductivity of composite copper wire by 5%. That small percentage can make a big difference in motor efficiency. The laboratory teamed with General Motors to test out the souped-up copper wire for use in vehicle motor components, as part of a cost-shared research project.
What’s Nanotechnology? Kristin Persson Explains at 4 Different Levels
In celebration of National Nanotechnology Day, Molecular Foundry Director Kristin Persson explains atomic-scale engineering at four different levels – for a kindergartner, a middle schooler, a high school senior, and a graduate student
All together now: Experiments with twisted 2D materials catch electrons behaving collectively
A team led by the University of Washington reports that carefully constructed stacks of graphene — a 2D form of carbon — can exhibit highly correlated electron properties. The team also found evidence that this type of collective behavior likely relates to the emergence of exotic magnetic states.
PNNL Technologies Garner Six R&D 100 Honors
A shoe scanner that would allow people to keep on their footwear as they pass through airport security and a cement that repairs itself are among five PNNL R&D 100 Award recipients. PNNL now has garnered a total of 116 since the program’s inception.
Scientists Capture Candid Snapshots of Electrons Harvesting Light at the Atomic Scale
A team of scientists led by Berkeley Lab has gained important new insight into electrons’ role in the harvesting of light in artificial photosynthesis systems.
From Plastic to Protein Powder
Michigan Tech researchers have been selected for a $7.2 million DARPA cooperative agreement award to turn military plastic waste into protein powder and lubricants.
Quantum light squeezes the noise out of microscopy signals
Researchers at Oak Ridge National Laboratory used quantum optics to advance state-of-the-art microscopy and illuminate a path to detecting material properties with greater sensitivity than is possible with traditional tools.
Next-Generation Electron Source Hits the Bullseye for Materials Studies
Researchers have designed and demonstrated a new bullseye lens for very bright, very fast electron sources. The lens combines atomically flat surfaces with concentric grooves that direct the interactions of the surface electrons to form an intense electron beam in the center of the bullseye. The lens can generate pulses lasting less than 10 femtoseconds.
Tiny engineered therapeutic delivery system safely solves genetic problems in mice
Researchers report in Science Advances that the lipid-based nanoparticles they have engineered, carrying two sets of protein-making instructions, showed in animal studies that they have the potential to function as therapies for two genetic disorders.
Toward an Ultrahigh Energy Density Capacitor
Researchers at Berkeley Lab and UC Berkeley have demonstrated that a common material can be processed into a top-performing energy storage material. Their discovery could improve the efficiency, reliability, and robustness of personal electronics, wearable technologies, and car audio systems.
AI software enables real-time 3D printing quality assessment
Oak Ridge National Laboratory researchers have developed artificial intelligence software for powder bed 3D printers that assesses the quality of parts in real time, without the need for expensive characterization equipment.
Additive Manufacturing for COVID-19
A new Prospective article—Additive Manufacturing for COVID-19: Devices, Materials, Prospects and Challenges—published in MRS Communications, looks at these critical supply issues and provides an overview of 3D printing and how coupling the tools in additive manufacturing (AM) and advanced materials has provided a viable alternative for rapid production and distribution of PPEs and medical devices.
Quantum Materials Quest Could Benefit From Graphene That Buckles
Graphene, an extremely thin two-dimensional layer of the graphite used in pencils, buckles when cooled while attached to a flat surface, resulting in beautiful pucker patterns that could benefit the search for novel quantum materials and superconductors, according to Rutgers-led research in the journal Nature. Quantum materials host strongly interacting electrons with special properties, such as entangled trajectories, that could provide building blocks for super-fast quantum computers. They also can become superconductors that could slash energy consumption by making power transmission and electronic devices more efficient.
Machine Learning Probes 3D Microstructures
Scientists have developed a machine learning technique for materials research at the atomic and molecular scales. The technique visualizes and quantifies the atomic and molecular structures in three-dimensional samples in real time. It is designed primarily to identify and characterize microstructures in 3D samples.
Story Tips: Pandemic impact, root studies, neutrons confirm, lab on a crystal and modeling fusion
ORNL Story Tips: Pandemic impact, root studies, neutrons confirm, lab on a crystal and modeling fusion
Berkeley Lab Part of Multi-Institutional Team Awarded $60M for Solar Fuels Research
The Department of Energy has awarded $60 million to a new solar fuels initiative – called the Liquid Sunlight Alliance (LiSA) – led by Caltech in close partnership with Berkeley Lab. LiSA will build on the foundational work of the Joint Center for Artificial Photosynthesis (JCAP).
Visual analytics tool plucks elusive patterns from elaborate datasets
An ORNL team developed CrossVis, an open-source, customizable visual analytics system that analyzes numerical, categorical and image-based data while providing multiple dynamic, coordinated views of these and other data types.
Solving materials problems with a quantum computer
Scientists at Argonne and the University of Chicago have developed a method paving the way to using quantum computers to simulate realistic molecules and complex materials. They tested the method on a quantum simulator and IBM quantum computer.
Pioneering Materials Scientist James De Yoreo Receives Distinguished Scientist Fellow Award
Pioneering materials scientist James De Yoreo receives Distinguished Scientist Fellow award. The U.S. Department of Energy’s Office of Science bestows one of its highest honors on PNNL materials scientist.
SLAC’s upgraded X-ray laser facility produces first light
The LCLS-II upgrade project will increase the X-ray laser’s power by thousands of times, producing a million pulses per second compared to 120 per second today. Now, the first phase of the upgrade has come into operation, producing an X-ray beam for the first time using newly installed undulators. The full upgrade is due to be completed within the next two years.
Predicting X-ray Absorption Spectra from Graphs
Scientists built a machine learning model that can rapidly predict how atoms absorb x-rays for materials science research.
Facemask Fabric Filtration Efficiency
Scientists have completed an important and timely study of cloth masks. The study examined the filtration efficiency of fabrics and focused on aerosol particles in a range of sizes relevant to viral transmission through respiratory exposures. The best-performing masks used hybrid designs that include high thread-count cotton and electrostatic layers such as silk or polyester chiffon.
$18M Boost to Materials Science Research at UC San Diego
The National Science Foundation has awarded University of California San Diego researchers a six-year $18 million grant to fund a new Materials Research Science and Engineering Center (MRSEC).
Making a Material Impact
It’s called CHARM—the University of Delaware’s new Center for Hybrid, Active and Responsive Materials. It will drive fundamental materials science research and enable critical innovations in biomedicine, security, sensing and more.
Summit Helps Predict Molecular Breakups
A team used the Summit supercomputer to simulate transition metal systems—such as copper bound to molecules of nitrogen, dihydrogen, or water—and correctly predicted the amount of energy required to break apart dozens of molecular systems, paving the way for a greater understanding of these materials.
Intense Light Pulses Bounce on a Crystalline Bed without Rumpling the Atomic Blanket
Scientists developed a new technique that uses intense X-ray pulses to measure how atoms move in a sheet of material one molecule thick. Scientists showed that movement of the atoms in a tungsten-selenium “blanket” layer caused the layer to stretch but not wrinkle. The research can help produce materials with new optical and electronic properties.
Laser allows solid-state refrigeration of a semiconductor material
A team from the University of Washington used an infrared laser to cool a solid semiconductor by at least 20 degrees C, or 36 F, below room temperature, as they report in a paper published June 23 in Nature Communications.
Lack of Damage After Secondary Impacts Surprises Researchers
When a material is subjected to a shock or blast wave, damage often forms internally through spall fracture, and research is needed to know how these damaged materials respond to subsequent shock waves. Recent experimentation on spall fracture in metals found that, in certain cases, there was an almost complete lack of damage with only a thin band of altered microstructure observed. In the Journal of Applied Physics, researchers narrowed down exactly why the expected damage was missing.
Off the Scales: Fish Armor Both Tough and Flexible
Humans have drawn technological inspiration from fish scales going back to ancient times: Romans, Egyptians, and other civilizations would dress their warriors in scale armor, providing both protection and mobility. Now, using advanced X-ray imaging techniques, Berkeley Lab scientists have characterized carp scales down to the nanoscale, enabling them to understand how the material is resistant to penetration while retaining flexibility.
Expert available for comment on COVID-19 (Coronavirus) and Materials Science
According to Rajesh R. Naik , “The current COVID19 crisis provides opportunities for the materials research community to provide solutions to overcome some of the challenges posed by the pandemic in areas such as decontamination, diagnostics and personal protective equipment…
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.
Lograsso named Critical Materials Institute Director
Dr. Thomas Lograsso has been named director of the U.S. Department of Energy’s Critical Materials Institute (CMI) at Ames Laboratory.
RENEWABLE ENERGY ADVANCE
In order to identify materials that can improve storage technologies for fuel cells and batteries, you need to be able to visualize the actual three-dimensional structure of a particular material up close and in context. Researchers from the University of Delaware’s Catalysis Center for Energy Innovation (CCEI) have done just that, developing new techniques for characterizing complex materials.
Making a Material World Better, Faster Now: Q&A With Materials Project Director Kristin Persson
Berkeley Lab’s Kristin Persson shares her thoughts on what inspired her to launch the Materials Project online database, the future of materials research and machine learning, and how she found her own way into a STEM career.
Renowned scientist to head new research for plasma applications in industry and quantum information science
The Princeton Plasma Physics Laboratory has appointed David Graves, an internationally known chemical engineer, to head a new research enterprise that will explore plasma applications in semiconductor manufacturing and the next generation of super-fast quantum computers.
Surfaces That Grip Like Gecko Feet Could Be Easily Mass-Produced
The science behind sticky gecko’s feet lets gecko adhesion materials pick up about anything. But cost-effective mass production of the materials was out of reach until now. A new method of making them could usher the spread of gecko-inspired grabbers to assembly lines and homes.
Argonne physicist Giulia Galli earns two top honors for outstanding research and leadership
Galli elected to both the American Academy of Arts and Sciences and the National Academy of Sciences.
Crystal power
Scientists at the U.S. Department of Energy’s Argonne National Laboratory have created and tested a single-crystal electrode that promises to yield pivotal discoveries for advanced batteries under development worldwide.