Rutgers scientists have developed catalysts that can convert carbon dioxide – the main cause of global warming – into plastics, fabrics, resins and other products. The electrocatalysts are the first materials, aside from enzymes, that can turn carbon dioxide and water into carbon building blocks containing one, two, three or four carbon atoms with more than 99 percent efficiency.
Microscopes make the invisible visible. And compared to conventional light microscopes, transmission x-ray microscopes (TXM) can see into samples with much higher resolution, revealing extraordinary details. Researchers across a wide range of scientific fields use TXM to see the structural and chemical makeup of their samples--everything from biological cells to energy storage materials.
The Swiss sportswear manufacturer KJUS presented the world's first ski jacket with an integrated electronic user-controlled membrane on November 15. Thanks to the HYDRO_BOT technology developed together with Empa, the ski jacket actively pumps out sweat from inside the jacket to keep skiers dry and warm.
Argonne ‘s Advanced Synthesis in Continuous Flow Reactor program applies the science of chemical reactions together with powerful analysis and characterization tools to understand processes at the atomic level to advance manufacturing of fine chemicals and nanosized materials.
Oak Ridge National Laboratory researchers invented a way to make a nanomaterial-embedded composite that is stronger than other fiber-reinforced composites and imbued with a new capability—the ability to monitor its own structural health.
Electricity-generating windows and high-temperature solar power are the aims of two new University of Michigan projects, funded with a total of $1.6 million from the Department of Energy's Solar Energy Technologies Office.
Research at West Virginia University will focus on turning carbon dioxide in power plant flue gas into commercial-quality sodium bicarbonate—baking soda—aiming to use product sales to lower the cost of carbon capture technology.
New, easily prepared starting material opens access to learning more about a difficult-to-control element in nuclear waste.
Researchers from Binghamton University’s Mechanical Engineering Department have developed a manufacturing technique that will keep electronics cooler by 10 degrees Celsius (18 degrees Fahrenheit), allowing for faster, more efficient computation.
The U.S. Department of Energy's (DOE) High Performance Computing for Energy Innovation (HPC4EI) Initiative today issued its first joint solicitation for the High Performance Computing for Manufacturing Program (HPC4Mfg) and the High Performance Computing for Materials Program (HPC4Mtls).
Three-dimensional polymer on lithium metal battery anodes could double battery life, increase charge rate and safety.
A new chemical process converts a component of wasted wood pulp and other biomass into high-value pressure-sensitive adhesives.
UPTON, NY—Scientists from the Center for Functional Nanomaterials (CFN)—a U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) Office of Science User Facility at Brookhaven National Laboratory—have dramatically improved the response of graphene to light through self-assembling wire-like nanostructures that conduct electricity.
The University of Minnesota College of Science and Engineering announced today that it will lead and house a new $10.3 million Center for Spintronic Materials in Advanced Information Technologies (SMART) focused on novel materials for advanced computing systems over the next four years.
A new study by researchers from the National University of Singapore has uncovered a major problem – a lack of graphene production standards has led to many cases of poor quality products from suppliers. Such practices can impede the progress of research that depend fundamentally on the use of high-quality graphene.
Scientists and engineers working to solve the mysteries of quantum materials need the right tool for the right job.
A Berkeley Lab-led research has adapted a powerful electron-based imaging technique to obtain a first-of-its-kind image of atomic-scale structure in a synthetic polymer. The research could ultimately inform polymer fabrication methods and lead to new designs for materials and devices that incorporate polymers.
Using an x-ray technique available at the National Synchrotron Light Source II (NSLS-II), scientists found that the metal-insulator transition in the correlated material magnetite is a two-step process. The researchers from the University of California Davis published their paper in the journal Physical Review Letters.
Argonne scientists have invented a membrane that, when exposed to sunlight, can clean itself and also actively degrade pollutants.
Despite its role in shaping life as we know it, many aspects of photosynthesis remain a mystery. An international collaboration between scientists at SLAC National Accelerator Laboratory, Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory and several other institutions is working to change that. The researchers used SLAC’s Linac Coherent Light Source (LCLS) X-ray laser to capture the most complete and highest resolution picture to date of Photosystem II, a key protein complex in plants, algae and cyanobacteria responsible for splitting water and producing the oxygen we breathe.
Laser-based ‘optical tweezers’ could levitate uranium and plutonium particles, thus allowing the measurement of nuclear recoil during radioactive decay. This technique, proposed by scientists at Los Alamos National Laboratory, provides a new method for conducting the radioactive particle analysis essential to nuclear forensics.
A new study is a step forward in understanding why perovskite materials work so well in energy devices and potentially leads the way toward a theorized “hot” technology that would significantly improve the efficiency of today’s solar cells.
Researchers at the University of Colorado Boulder have uncovered the statistical rules that govern how gigantic colonies of fire ants form bridges, ladders and floating rafts.
Many of today’s methods of purifying water rely on filters and chemicals that need regular replenishing or maintenance. Millions of people, however, live in areas with limited access to such materials, leading the research community to explore new options of purifying water in using plasmas. Many plasma-based approaches are expensive, but a new class of plasma devices may change that. Researchers at the have been studying a new type of plasma generator for water purification. They will present the research next week at the APS 71st Annual Gaseous Electronics Conference and the 60th Annual meeting of the APS Division of Plasma Physics, Nov. 5-9.
Imagine looking under your couch and instead of finding fluffy dust bunnies, you see the dust is arranged in straight lines—you might wonder what caused this order.
Antimatter is an exotic material that vaporizes when it contacts regular matter. If you hit an antimatter baseball with a bat made of regular matter, it would explode in a burst of light. It is rare to find antimatter on Earth, but it is believed to exist in the furthest reaches of the universe.
Imagine building a machine so advanced and precise you need a supercomputer to help design it. That’s exactly what scientists and engineers in Germany did when building the Wendelstein 7-X experiment.
New insights have been gained about stellar winds, streams of high-speed charged particles called plasma that blow through interstellar space. These winds, created by eruptions from stars or stellar explosions, carry with them strong magnetic fields which can interact with or effect other magnetic fields
As you walk away from a campfire on a cool autumn night, you quickly feel colder. The same thing happens in outer space. As it spins, the sun continuously flings hot material into space, out to the furthest reaches of our solar system.
We all know microwaves are good for cooking popcorn, but scientists have recently shown they can also prevent dangerous waves in plasmas and help produce clean, nearly limitless energy with fusion.
Researchers have uncovered a new material that can produce both magnetism and superconductivity.
The American Chemical Society (ACS) has recognized biocatalysis expert Richard Gross with the 2019 ACS Award for Affordable Green Chemistry, bestowed for outstanding scientific discoveries or chemistries that lay the foundation for cost-competitive environmentally friendly products or manufacturing processes that are less expensive than existing alternatives.
World’s first PET aerogels cut plastic waste, and are suitable for heat and sound insulation, oil spill cleaning, carbon dioxide absorption, as well as fire safety applications.
Revealed for the first time by a new X-ray laser technique, their surprisingly unruly response has profound implications for designing and controlling materials.
The appetite for faster, smaller, and more powerful technology has spurred incredible innovations – but it also created an overwhelming demand on the way electronic devices handle the heat they generate.This is the problem that inspires Penn State mechanical engineers, Sukwon Choi, Brian Foley, and Bladimir Ramos-Alvarado, to study new ways to predict and mitigate thermal transport issues in nanoscale systems.
A natural “battery” of briny liquids and volcanic minerals may have produced Mars’ organic carbon, according to new analysis of three Martian meteorites by a team including researchers at Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute.
ORNL story tips: ORNL’s simulation shows 40 percent fuel savings when cars drive themselves; colliding tin isotopes helps scientists better understand unstable nuclei in exploding stars; new method to control HVACs in buildings provides grid stability, occupant comfort; AK Steel uses neutrons to see how new steel for vehicle components performs during various manufacturing processes.
In independent studies reported in Science and Nature, scientists from the Department of Energy’s SLAC National Accelerator Laboratory and Stanford University report two important advances: They measured collective vibrations of electrons for the first time and showed how collective interactions of the electrons with other factors appear to boost superconductivity.
The American Physical Society (APS) 71st Annual Gaseous Electronics Conference and 60th Annual meeting of the APS Division of Plasma Physics will take place next week, Nov. 5-9, at the Oregon Convention Center in Portland. These two co-located meetings will form one of the largest gatherings of their kind anywhere in the world this year, with more than 2,000 attendees expected from around the world to convene and discuss the basic understanding and groundbreaking applications of different types of plasma science.
What happens when something keeps getting smaller and smaller? This is the type of question Empa researcher Johann Michler and his team are investigating. As a by-product of their research completely novel watch springs could soon be used in Swiss timepieces.
Manganese could advance one of the most promising sources of renewable energy: hydrogen fuel cells. In a study published today (Oct. 29, 2018) in Nature Catalysis, a University at Buffalo-led research team reports on catalysts made from the widely available and inexpensive metal. The advancement could eventually help solve hydrogen fuel cells’ most frustrating problem: namely, they’re not affordable because most catalysts are made with platinum, which is both rare and expensive.
Researchers at Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory and the Joint Center for Artificial Photosynthesis have developed an artificial photosynthesis device called a “hybrid photoelectrochemical and voltaic cell” that turns sunlight and water into two types of energy – hydrogen fuel and electricity.
The use of pressure to alter semiconductor properties is showing increasing promise in applications such as high-performance infrared sensors and energy conversion devices.
A novel new way to keep oil from clogging filters and equipment
The U.S. Department of Energy's (DOE) High Performance Computing for Energy Innovation (HPC4EI) Initiative has announced it will issue its first joint solicitation in November for two of its pillar initiatives, the High Performance Computing for Manufacturing Program (HPC4Mfg) and the High Performance Computing for Materials Program (HPC4Mtls).
The scientific community is gearing up for the ultimate challenge -- to race the speed of light. In this quest, they are tinkering with the electronic and magnetic properties of new materials to improve the performance and capabilities of logic, memory and energy devices for next-generation technology. During the 65th AVS International Symposium and Exhibition, being held Oct. 21-26, Alexander Gray will discuss his work using soft and hard X-ray angle-resolved photoemission spectroscopy to explore the depth- and momentum-resolved electronic structure of quantum materials and nanostructures.
Looking to replace expensive lab equipment used by engineering students, a team of Kennesaw State University researchers have developed a series of take-home educational devices that can be made for as little as $30 using 3D printing technology.
Careful sample preparation, electron tomography and quantitative analysis of 3D models provides unique insights into the inner structure of reverse osmosis membranes widely used for salt water desalination wastewater recycling and home use, according to a team of chemical engineers.
Good bacteria cleaning water in Georgia Aquarium's huge oceanic exhibit delivered a nice surprise to researchers. The aquarium wanted to know which bacteria were at work, so Georgia Tech oceanic biochemists analyzed them: The bacterial colonies raised eyebrows because they were virtually indistinguishable from those found in analogous natural settings.
Researchers have developed a new class of molecular layer deposition chemistry that paves the way for a new photoactivated molecular layer deposition technique. They report that their new method will expand the tool kit for forming covalently bound organic multilayers at surfaces. These emerging deposition techniques have enabled engineers to produce organic thin films with improved conformality. Richard Closser, Stanford University, will present the findings at the AVS 65th International Symposium and Exhibition, Oct. 21-26, 2018.
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