A Step Towards New, Faster-Charging, and Safer Batteries
Researchers found a simple solution to the limited durability in aluminum-ion batteries - an electrode composed of graphite. In this work, the internal gaps in the foam allowed faster motion of the ions inside the negative electrode that enhance the rate of charging.
Lithium Hoarding Behind Failure of Promising New Battery
A salt plays a critical role in allowing lithium-sulfur batteries to hold a charge after more than 200 uses; this work offers needed design principles for creating long-lasting, high-capacity batteries.
New Material Increases the Lifetime of Solar-Powered Electrons
By combining two materials on the atomic scale, scientists built a designer interface that separates electrons and holes; this work matters because those electrons could go on to drive reactions that yield hydrogen fuel, converting intermittent sunlight into fuels.
Chromium Breaks the Toughest of Bonds, with the Right Support
At the Center for Molecular Electrocatalysis, scientists showed what it takes to make long-overlooked chromium help form ammonia; this work is a critical step in controlling a reaction that could store electrons from intermittent wind and solar stations in use-any-time fuels.
Reaping Radioisotopes
Researchers designed a way to radiochemically harvest long-lived radioisotopes at the future Facility for Rare Isotope Beams.
Match-Heads Boost Photovoltaic Efficiency
Scientists created three-dimensional structures that resemble match heads. The structures enhance light absorption and photovoltaic efficiency.
Ferroelectricity - Ambiguity Clarified, and Resolved
A detailed assessment called into question the previous identification of ferroelectric materials based solely on scanning probe microscopy
Damaged Material, Heal Thyself
Inspired by healing wounds in skin, a new approach protects and heals surfaces using a fluid secretion process.
Probing Nuclear Reactions in Stars
Thanks to a new experimental technique, scientists have now measured a crucial fusion reaction, involving hydrogen and a rare isotope of oxygen, that occurs inside stars.
Project 8 Detects Individual Electrons by their Cyclotron Radiation
The Project 8 collaboration constructed a prototype instrument to demonstrate a new electron spectroscopy technique that could be used for a next-generation tritium endpoint experiment.
One Photon or Two?
Physicists measured how often an electron exchanges two virtual photons as compared to one virtual photon.
Ripples Ruffle Primordial Plasma
New research suggests that the hot, dense "soup" of particles that existed in the early universe was "stirred" by a magnetic wave that pushed around the positively and negative charged particles, according to scientists in the STAR collaboration at the Relativistic Heavy Ion Collider.
Unprecedented Precise Determination of Three-Dimensional Atomic Positions
Researchers combine high-resolution microscopy with new electron image analysis to measure atomic positions with an unprecedented precision of less than half the radius of a hydrogen atom.
Viable Single-Molecule Diodes
Researchers designed a new technique to create single-molecule diodes that perform 50 times better than all previous designs.
Build a Network, Cellular Style
For the first time, biomolecular machines have been exploited to perform mechanical work to deform and dynamically assemble complex, far-from-equilibrium polymer networks. This development could lead to new pathways to make complex, robust polymer structures using biological molecules.
Small Variations Mean Big Changes in Oxide's Transformation From Insulator to Conductor
More efficient computers and other devices often begin with new materials. One promising option is vanadium dioxide, which rapidly transforms from an insulator to a conductor in femtoseconds. Scientists found that the dioxide responds non-uniformly on the nanoscale, contrary to prior assumptions.
You Can Have Your Conductor and Insulator, Too
By carefully tuning the chemical composition of a particular compound, researchers have created a topological crystalline insulator, whose bulk acts as an insulator but whose surface conducts electrical currents.
Spontaneous Pressure Regulation Within Artificial Cells
Living cells respond to threats in their environment. What if materials could do the same? Using a similar pressure-regulating mechanism to that found in cells, scientists created an artificial cell that responds to a sudden and possibly catastrophic change in its surroundings.
Match-Heads Boost Photovoltaic Efficiency
Crystal growth on a nano/microscale level produces "match-head"-like, three-dimensional structures that enhance light absorption and photovoltaic efficiency. This is the first large structure grown on a nanowire tip and it creates a completely new architecture for harnessing energy.
Major Gains in Ion Production for Radioactive Beams
New charge breeding techniques produce beams of radioactive ions that can be accelerated to induce nuclear reactions, providing the opportunity to explore aspects of the nuclear force and to study in the laboratory some of the processes creating the elements in stellar environments.
Creating Novel Magnetic Islands for Spintronics
For the first time, scientists demonstrated controlled generation of magnetic islands known as skyrmions--the magnetic version of a new class of exotic particles at room temperature.
A Nobel for Neutrinos: Super-Kamiokande
The 2015 Nobel Prize in Physics was shared by Arthur B. McDonald, from the Sudbury Neutrino Observatory, and Takaaki Kajita, from the Super-Kamiokande collaboration, for discovering neutrino oscillations that show that neutrinos have mass.
A Nobel for Neutrinos: Sudbury Neutrino Observatory
The 2015 Nobel Prize in Physics was shared by Arthur B. McDonald, the leader of the Sudbury Neutrino Observatory, and Takaaki Kajita, a leader of the Super-Kamiokande collaboration, for discovering neutrino oscillations, showing that neutrinos have mass.
Toward Powerful and Compact Terahertz Spectrometers
Researchers fabricated high-performance quantum cascade lasers (and integrated them into a device to demonstrate new, high-power broadband terahertz frequency combs, which are powerful tools for high-precision measurements and spectroscopy.
Eco-Friendly Battery and Solar Cell All-in-One
In solar flow batteries, the proposed charging process links harvesting solar energy and storing it as chemical energy via the electrolyte. Scientists built a solar flow battery that uses an eco-friendly, compatible solvent and needs a lower applied voltage to recharge the battery.