Researchers have made a MOF with the highest electron charge mobilities ever observed, along with a technique to improve the conductivity of other MOFs. The work was led by Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory.
Visitors flocked to the U.S. Department of Energy’s (DOE) Argonne National Laboratory for the ninth annual Modeling, Experimentation and Validation (MeV) Summer School in late July.
A self-healing membrane that also acts as a reverse filter can block small particles and let large ones through is possible, according to Penn State mechanical engineers who say it is "straight out of science fiction."
Californians do not purchase electric vehicles because they are cool, they buy EVs because they live in a warm climate. Conventional lithium-ion batteries cannot be rapidly charged at temperatures below 50 degrees Fahrenheit
Scientists at the U.S. Department of Energy’s (DOE) Brookhaven National Laboratory have developed a new approach to 3-D x-ray imaging that can visualize bulky materials in great detail—an impossible task with conventional imaging methods. The novel technique could help scientists unlock clues about the structural information of countless materials, from batteries to biological systems.
On August 9, 2018, the U.S. Department of Energy’s (DOE) Brookhaven National Laboratory bid farewell—for now—to approximately 250 students at the concluding ceremony to their 10 weeks of summer research. The daylong celebration honored the students’ efforts and accomplishments—and gave them the opportunity to showcase their work to their mentors, fellow interns, university administrators and faculty, and Brookhaven Lab staff.
Lithium-ion batteries commonly used in consumer electronics are notorious for bursting into flame when damaged or improperly packaged. These incidents occasionally have grave consequences, including burns, house fires and at least one plane crash. Inspired by the weird behavior of some liquids that solidify on impact, researchers have developed a practical and inexpensive way to help prevent these fires.
A team of researchers led by the University of Minnesota has developed a new material that could potentially improve the efficiency of computer processing and memory.
Dr. Gregory E. Hilmas, a ceramic engineer and leading expert in methods to create more durable, next-generation materials, has been named chair of materials science and engineering at Missourri University of Science and Technology.The Curators’ Distinguished Professor of ceramic engineering has served as interim department chair since July 2017.
Ceramic materials are used in nuclear, chemical and electrical power generation industries because of their ability to withstand extreme environments. However, at high temperatures, ceramics are susceptible to thermal-shock fractures caused by rapid temperature-changing events, such as cold water droplet contact with hot surfaces. In a novel interdisciplinary approach, engineers at the University of New Mexico report in AIP Advances the use of a cheap, simple, water-repelling coating to prevent thermal shock in ceramics.
A research team will develop a fully biodegradable plastic straw thanks to an award from Singapore’s Temasek Foundation Ecosperity.
Soldiers on the battlefield or at remote bases often have to wait weeks for vital replacement parts. Now scientists report they have found a way to fabricate many of these parts within hours under combat conditions using water bottles, cardboard and other recyclable materials found on base as starting materials for 3D printing. They say this ‘game-changing’ advance could improve operational readiness, reduce dependence on outside supply chains and enhance safety.
Once in the territory of science fiction, “nanobots” are closer than ever to becoming a reality, with possible applications in medicine, manufacturing, robotics and fluidics. Today, scientists report progress in developing the tiny machines: They have made nanobot pumps that destroy nerve agents, while simultaneously administering an antidote.
Scientists in the School of Engineering & Applied Science at Washington University in St. Louis have, for the first time, created a biosynthetic spider silk that behaves like the real thing. And they may soon make it even stronger.
Researchers recently discovered that the strength of the magnetic field required to elicit a particular quantum mechanical process corresponds to the temperature of the material. Based on this finding, scientists can determine a sample’s temperature to a resolution of one cubic micron by measuring the field strength at which this effect occurs. Temperature sensing is integral in most industrial, electronic and chemical processes, so greater spatial resolution could benefit commercial and scientific pursuits. The team reports their findings in AIP Advances.
Scientists report they have successfully developed and tested the world’s first ultrathin artificial retina that could vastly improve on existing implantable visualization technology for the blind. The flexible device, based on very thin 2D materials, could someday restore sight to the millions of people with retinal diseases. And with a few modifications, the device could be used to track heart and brain activity.
A fabric coating with thin, lightweight and flexible pressure sensors that can be embedded into shoes and other functional garments, sensors that can measure everything from the light touch of a finger to being driven over by a forklift. And it’s comfortable to boot!
For four years, three laboratories on two continents have prepared the ICARUS particle detector to capture the interactions of mysterious particles called neutrinos at the U.S. Department of Energy’s Fermi National Accelerator Laboratory. On Tuesday, Aug. 14, ICARUS moved into its new Fermilab home, a recently completed building that houses the large, 20-meter-long neutrino hunter. Filled with 760 tons of liquid argon, it is one of the largest detectors of its kind in the world.
Columbia University researchers report an advance that may revolutionize the field of 2D materials such as graphene: a “twistronic” device whose characteristics can be varied by simply varying the angle between two different 2D layers placed on top of one another. The device provides unprecedented control over the angular orientation in twisted-layer devices, and enables researchers to study the effects of twist angle on electronic, optical, and mechanical properties in a single device.
Swirling dense metallic hydrogen dominates the interiors of Jupiter, Saturn and many extra-solar planets. Building precise models of these giant planets requires an accurate description of the transition of pressurized hydrogen into this metallic substance – a long-standing scientific challenge. In a paper published by Science, a research team led by scientists at Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory describes optical measurements of the insulator-to-metal transition in fluid hydrogen, resolving discrepancies in previous experiments and establishing new benchmarks for calculations used to construct planetary models. The multi-institution team included researchers from the French Alternative Energies and Atomic Energy Commission, University of Edinburgh, University of Rochester, Carnegie Institution of Washington, University of California, Berkeley and The George Washington University.
Many natural products and drugs feature a so-called dicarbonyl motif – in certain cases however their preparation poses a challenge to organic chemists. In their most recent work, Nuno Maulide and his coworkers from the University of Vienna present a new route for these molecules. They use oxidized sulfur compounds even though sulfur is not included in the final product. The results are now published in the prestigious journal "Science".
Sandia’s materials science team has engineered a platinum-gold alloy believed to be the most wear-resistant metal in the world. It’s 100 times more durable than high-strength steel, making it the first alloy, or combination of metals, in the same class as diamond and sapphire, nature’s most wear-resistant materials.
A research team has demonstrated how light-emitting nanoparticles, developed at Berkeley Lab, can be used to see deep in living tissue. Researchers hope they can be made to attach to specific components of cells to serve in an advanced imaging system that can pinpoint even single cancer cells.
Experts in fluid dynamics and kids jumping into a pool both know that an object falling into a liquid makes a splash. A new study finds that a single layer of a penetrable fabric – in this case, toilet paper – causes a wettable ball to make an especially tall splash, but additional layers can stop the splash entirely.
A team of scientists has uncovered new molecular properties of water—a discovery of a phenomenon that had previously gone unnoticed.
A new, super-insulating gel developed by researchers at the University of Colorado Boulder could dramatically increase the energy efficiency of skyscrapers and other buildings, and might one day help scientists to build greenhouse-like habitats for colonists on Mars.
Systems biology leads the way to exascale computing on Summit supercomputer.
In a paper published online July 23 in Nature, a UW-led research team reports that the 2-D form of tungsten ditelluride can undergo "ferroelectric switching" — a first for a exfoliated 2-D material. Ferroelectric materials can have applications in memory storage, capacitors, RFID card technologies and even medical sensors.
The Spallation Neutron Source at Oak Ridge National Laboratory has reached a new milestone by operating a complete neutron production run cycle at 1.3 megawatts. Achieving the record power level with a remarkable 94 percent accelerator beam availability establishes a new baseline of operation as well as a path to operate reliably at higher powers. Increased power offers researchers the ability to conduct faster scientific analyses using neutrons on more types of materials.
Scientists have discovered that the electrical resistance of this material changes in an unusual way under very high magnetic fields—a finding that could help direct the search for materials that can perfectly conduct electricity at room temperature.
The Australian-based Silanna Group is setting up a high-tech advanced manufacturing research facility on the University of Adelaide campus.
The Centre for Advanced Two-Dimensional Materials at the National University of Singapore has teamed up with US-based aerospace company Boreal Space to test the properties of graphene after it has been launched into the stratosphere.
Inspired by elements found in nature, researchers at the University of New Hampshire say the puzzle-like wavy structure of the delicate seed coat, found in plants like succulents and some grasses, could hold the secret to creating new smart materials strong enough to be used in items like body armor, screens, and airplane panels.
A team led by scientists at Berkeley Lab found a way to make a liquid-like state behave more like a solid, and then to reverse the process.
Controlling or limiting the internal relative humidity (moisture) within concrete may prevent deterioration from occurring, or slow ongoing deterioration.
A team of mechanical engineering senior design students will collaborate with NASA to develop and test innovative feedstock materials that can be 3D printed in space through X-Hab.
The U.S. Department of Energy has awarded an expected $10.75 million, four-year grant to the University of Washington, the Pacific Northwest National Laboratory and other partner institutions for a new interdisciplinary research center to define the enigmatic rules governing how molecular-scale building blocks assemble into ordered structures & hierarchical materials.
Scientists at the Florida State University-headquartered National High Magnetic Field Laboratory have discovered a behavior in materials called cuprates that suggests they carry current in a way entirely different from conventional metals such as copper. The research, published today in the journal Science, adds new meaning to the materials’ moniker, “strange metals.”
Argonne has been awarded U.S. Department of Energy funds to probe materials and chemical processes on time scales of a quadrillionth of a second or less.
Scientists have now observed for the first time how diamonds grow from seed at an atomic level, and discovered just how big the seeds need to be to kick the crystal growing process into overdrive.
This Focus Issue will look at recent advances in the in situ experimentation of plasticity and fracture, especially those that enable the development and design of materials and nanocomposites with enhanced mechanical properties reaching or approaching the extreme limits of materials properties.
A team led by the University of Washington has created an environmentally friendly way to remove color from dyes in water in a matter of seconds.
In a paper published in Applied Physics Reviews, a group of researchers at Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute, pointing to four underlying causes of fluctuations that span materials, argue that so-called "stochasticity" is inherent to all materials and merits greater exploration as a field of study.
ORNL story tips: Residents’ shared desire for water security benefits neighborhoods; 3D printed molds for concrete facades promise lower cost, production time; ORNL engineered the edges of structures in 2D crystals; chasing runaway electrons in fusion plasmas; new tools to understand U.S. waterways and identify potential hydropower sites; better materials for 3D-printed permanent magnets could last longer, perform better.
An Argonne researcher is collaborating with a user of the laboratory’s Center for Nanoscale Materials to study what makes silicon solar cells degrade. The answers may help lead to more durable solar cells and more affordable solar power.
In recognition of her foundational superconductor research, Ming Yi has been awarded the 2018 William E. and Diane M. Spicer Young Investigator Award, which is presented to a young scientist who has made significant contributions to the Stanford Synchrotron Radiation Lightsource (SSRL) and the light source community. SSRL is a DOE Office of Science user facility at SLAC National Accelerator Laboratory.
The dominant existing technology—silicon—is more than 90 percent of the way to its theoretical efficiency limit. More efficient technologies will be more expensive. ASU study finds the acceptable intersection of costs vs. efficiency.
Columbia University researchers report the use of SRS microscopy, a technique widely used in biomedical studies, to explore the mechanism behind dendrite growth in lithium batteries, the first team of material scientists to directly observe ion transport in electrolytes. They were able to see not only why lithium dendrites form but also how to inhibit their growth. Visualizing ion movement could help improve the performance of electrochemical devices, from batteries to fuel cells to sensors.
Argonne researchers find that tin is a silicon-friendly alternative for production of solid-state memory components.
RSS
Medicine keyboard_arrow_right
Sciencekeyboard_arrow_right
Life keyboard_arrow_right
Business keyboard_arrow_right
Journal News keyboard_arrow_right
By Location keyboard_arrow_right
Meetings, Grants, and Events keyboard_arrow_right