8 Things Argonne is Doing to Save the Earth
Stepping into their superhero gear, Argonne scientists are using science and the world’s best technology to combat some of Earth’s toughest foes, from pollution to climate change.
Polymers
Tough, yet tender: Scientists firm up research on durable hydrogels
The new material, which the Advanced Photon Source helped characterize, is strong yet stretchable, and could be ideal for creating artificial tendons and ligaments for prosthetics and robotics.
Designer Polymers Created from Peptide Bundles Promise Super-Strong Future Materials
New computer design methods pave the way for scientists to design and assemble bundles of peptides with specific size, shape, and display characteristics. Scientists can then link these customizable building blocks, called bundlemers, to produce a huge array of polymers.
Molecules Bend for Organic Electronics
Scientists have created a new type of electricity-conducting polymer containing both linear and ring elements. The new polymers have very different electronic properties than scientists would expect if the polymers simply added the contributions from each linear and ring component. The polymers open new avenues for moving energy within and between polymers.
Paper or Plastic? OU Chemical Engineers Work to Make Plastic Bags Recyclable and Compostable
Single-use plastic bags continue to pose a global environmental challenge, as their composition and form makes them difficult to recycle, and hundreds of years are required for them to degrade fully in the environment. While reusabable shopping bags offer an earth-friendly option, what if plastic bags could be recycled or placed in our composts?
Transforming Plastics Recycling with Discovery Science
Plastic waste is a major environmental issue. New research into plastics’ fundamental chemistry may help industry transform waste into useful products and make cyclical plastics that can be recycled over and over again.
Ryan Hayward: Then and Now / 2011 Early Career Award Winner
Ryan Hayward studies the performance of certain organic polymers and molecules that conduct electricity by precisely packing them into well-formed crystalline structures. Discoveries are leading to simpler, less expensive, and cleaner processes, as in electronic devices.
Exploring Blended Materials Along Compositional Gradients
A new platform could accelerate the development of blended materials with desired properties.
FSU researchers help develop sustainable polymers
Researchers at the FAMU-FSU College of Engineering have made new discoveries on the effects of temperature on sustainable polymers. Their findings may help the industry to produce plastics that are better for the environment.
Researchers Discover New Photoactivation Mechanism for Polymer Production
Researchers have demonstrated a way to use low-energy, visible light to produce polymer gel objects from pure monomer solutions. The work sheds further light on the ways in which low energy photons can combine to produce high energy excited states.
Story Tips: Cool smart walls, magnetism twist, fuel cost savings and polymers’ impact
ORNL Story Tips: Cool smart walls, magnetism twist, fuel cost savings and polymers’ impact
Elongated Ring Polymers Get Tied Up in Knots
Scientists have used simulations to discover a special polymer liquid that, when elongated don’t just stretch out; they also tie themselves into knots. This forms massive molecular chains that can increase the fluid’s viscosity, or resistance to flow, by a factor of 20.
New Science Behind Algae-based Flip-flops
UC San Diego researchers formulated polyurethane foams, made from algae oil, to meet commercial specifications for midsole shoes and the foot-bed of flip-flops. Their latest result, in a series of recent research publications, offers a complete solution to the plastics problem—at least for polyurethanes.
Battery Breakthrough Gives Boost to Electric Flight and Long-Range Electric Cars
Researchers at Berkeley Lab, in collaboration with Carnegie Mellon University, have developed a new battery material that could enable long-range electric vehicles that can drive for hundreds of miles on a single charge, and electric planes called eVTOLs for fast, environmentally friendly commutes.
Self-healing Artificial Electronic Skin Monitors Various Physical and Chemical Variables
A doctoral student at the Technion – Israel Institute of Technology has invented a soft polymer that is elastic and waterproof, and that knows how to heal itself in the event of an “injury,” such as a scratch, cut, or twist.
Scientists Aim Gene-Targeting Breakthrough Against COVID-19
Scientists at Berkeley Lab and Stanford have joined forces to aim a gene-targeting, antiviral agent called PAC-MAN against COVID-19.
Story Tips: Mining for COVID, rules to grow by and the 3D connection
ORNL story Tips: Mining for COVID, rules to grow by and the 3D connection
Fluorescent technique brings aging polymers to light
Researchers reporting in ACS Central Science have developed a method to visualize variations in polymers that arise with age.
New recycling method could make polyurethane sustainable
Researchers report in ACS Central Science a way to recycle used polyurethanes into equivalent or even higher-value items.
Polymer membranes could benefit from taking a dip
A new technique developed by a team including researchers from the U.S. Department of Energy (DOE)’s Argonne National Laboratory makes atomic layer deposition possible on nearly any membrane.
Researchers Make Gemstones with Salty, Soapy Water for the First Time
Collaborators from the University of California San Diego and New York University (NYU) used salt, soap and water to make “bling” with a proposed novel experiment by UC San Diego’s Jérémie Palacci to form ionic colloidal crystals from common colloids.
Unwinding the mystery of degraded reel-to-reel tapes
As reel-to-reel tapes make a comeback among audio buffs, scientists are unraveling the secret of why some decades-old tapes are unplayable, while others retain their original superb audio fidelity. The researchers are presenting their results through ACS SciMeetings online platform.
Self-assembly required: Neutrons probe novel polymer behavior for biomedical materials
LSU researchers are using neutron scattering at ORNL to study crystallization-driven self-assembly, a technique for forming nanoscale solid materials from solutions to understand how the technique could be used to craft controlled-shape nanostructures from polymers known as polypeptoids.
Polymers get caught up in love-hate chemistry of oil and water
Researchers at Oak Ridge National Laboratory and the University of Tennessee achieved a rare look at the inner workings of polymer self-assembly at an oil-water interface to advance materials for neuromorphic computing and bio-inspired technologies.
Dancing Matter: New form of movement of cyclic macromolecules discovered
Physicists show unique polymer behavior using computer simulationsEmploying a computer simulation, physicists Maximilian Liebetreu and Christos Likos have shown a unique dynamic behavior of cyclic polymers. Their motion can be distinguished into phases, and the scientists were able to observe the so-called “inflation phase” for the first time.
Science Snapshot From Berkeley Lab – a biocompatible material that turns up the heat on antibacterial-resistant diseases
Scientists at Berkeley Lab’s Molecular Foundry have designed a biocompatible polymer that has the potential to advance photothermal therapy, a technique that deploys near-infrared light to combat antibacterial-resistant infections and cancer.
Polymer expert Advincula named ORNL-UT Governor’s Chair
Rigoberto “Gobet” Advincula has been named Governor’s Chair of Advanced and Nanostructured Materials at the Department of Energy’s Oak Ridge National Laboratory and the University of Tennessee.
A Robot and Software Make it Easier to Create Advanced Materials
A Rutgers-led team of engineers has developed an automated way to produce polymers, making it much easier to create advanced materials aimed at improving human health. The innovation is a critical step in pushing the limits for researchers who want to explore large libraries of polymers, including plastics and fibers, for chemical and biological applications such as drugs and regenerative medicine through tissue engineering.
3D-Printed Plastics With High Performance Electrical Circuits
Rutgers engineers have embedded high performance electrical circuits inside 3D-printed plastics, which could lead to smaller and versatile drones and better-performing small satellites, biomedical implants and smart structures. They used pulses of high-energy light to fuse tiny silver wires, resulting in circuits that conduct 10 times more electricity than the state of the art, according to a study in the journal Additive Manufacturing. By increasing conductivity 10-fold, the engineers can reduce energy use, extend the life of devices and increase their performance.
Rethinking the science of plastic recycling
A multi-institutional collaboration reports a catalytic method for selectively converting discarded plastics into higher quality products. The team included Argonne National Laboratory, Ames Laboratory, Northwestern University and three other universities.
Upcycling polyethylene plastic waste into lubricant oils
Researchers reporting in ACS Central Science have developed a catalyst that can transform polyethylene –– the type of plastic used to make grocery bags –– into high-quality liquid products, such as motor oils and waxes.
Location, Location, Location… How charge placement can control a self-assembled structure
For years, scientists have formed polymers using the interaction of charges on molecular chains to determine the shape, geometry, and other properties. Now, a team achieved precise and predictable control of molecular chains by positioning charges. Their method leads to particles with reproducible sizes.