Feature Channels: Materials Science

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Argonne researchers have demonstrated that AI approaches can be used to transform a vital layering technique for semiconductors.

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Using DNA, scientists organized bioactive proteins in desired 2-D and 3-D ordered arrays—promising for structural biology, biomedicine, and more.

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Like two superheroes finally joining forces, Sandia National Laboratories’ Z machine — generator of the world’s most powerful electrical pulses — and Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory’s National Ignition Facility — the planet’s most energetic laser source — in a series of 10 experiments have detailed the responses of gold and platinum at pressures so extreme that their atomic structures momentarily distorted like images in a fun-house mirror.

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More than 1,600 researchers in six of the world’s seven continents have requested parameters for a ReaxFF reactive force field developed by a Penn State researcher and used as a valuable research tool in fields as varied as biomaterials, polymers, batteries and 3D printing.

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The American Ceramics Society (ACerS) has selected Clive Randall, director of the Materials Research Institute and distinguished professor of materials science and engineering, to give the 2021 Edward Orton, Jr. Memorial Lecture at the 2021 ACerS’s Annual Meeting.

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A challenging frontier in science and engineering is controlling matter outside of thermodynamic equilibrium to build material systems with capabilities that rival those of living organisms. Research on active colloids aims to create micro- and nanoscale “particles” that swim through viscous fluids like primitive microorganisms. When these self-propelled particles come together, they can organize and move like schools of fish to perform robotic functions, such as navigating complex environments and delivering “cargo” to targeted locations.

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Coming soon to a lab tabletop near you: a method of magneto-thermal imaging that offers nanoscale and picosecond resolution previously available only in synchrotron facilities.

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Material scientists have developed a fast method for producing epsilon iron oxide and demonstrated its promise for next-generation communications devices. Its outstanding magnetic properties make it one of the most coveted materials, such as for the upcoming 6G generation of communication devices and for durable magnetic recording. The work was published in the Journal of Materials Chemistry C, a journal of the Royal Society of Chemistry.

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Berkeley Lab scientists have made significant progress in developing battery cathodes using a new class of materials that provide batteries with the same if not higher energy density than conventional lithium-ion batteries but can be made of inexpensive and abundant metals. Known as DRX, which stands for disordered rocksalts with excess lithium, this novel family of materials was invented less than 10 years ago and allows cathodes to be made without nickel or cobalt.

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Jin Kim Montclare, professor of chemical and biomolecular engineering led a team who previously reported a responsive hydrogel formed using a coiled-coil protein. The team expanded their studies to identify the gelation of Q protein at distinct temperatures and pH conditions.

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Think about how many different pieces of technology the average household has purchased in the last decade.

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One vision that is currently driving material scientists is to combine organic molecules (and their diverse functionalities) with the technological possibilities offered by extremely sophisticated semiconductor electronics.

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Engineers developed inexpensive methods to make “impossible materials” that interact in unusual ways with microwave energy. Thin film polymers inkjet printed with tiny component patterns collect or transmit energy with much greater selectivity, sensitivity, and power than conventional materials.

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UPTON, NY—The U.S. Department of Energy’s (DOE) Brookhaven National Laboratory has named Alex Harris as Director of the Lab’s Energy Sciences Department, effective May 1, 2021. In his new position, Harris will manage several divisions of the Laboratory, including the Center for Functional Nanomaterials, the Chemistry Division, and the Condensed Matter Physics and Materials Science Division.

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Just how do spiders walk straight up -- and even upside-down across -- so many different types of surfaces? Answering this question could open up new opportunities for creating powerful, yet reversible, bioinspired adhesives.

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Scientists have developed a new technique that could revolutionise medical imaging procedures using light.

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Properties of materials are often defined by imperfections in their atomic structure, especially when the material itself is just one atom thick, such as graphene. Researchers at the University of Vienna have now developed a method for controlled creation of such imperfections into graphene at length scales approaching the macroscopic world. These results, confirmed by atomically resolved microscope images and published in the journal Nano Letters, serve as an essential starting point both for tailoring graphene for applications and for the development of new materials.

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In research published today in Nature Nanotechnology, a team of materials scientists and engineers, led by Jian Shi, an associate professor of materials science and engineering at Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute, used a strain gradient in order to break inversion symmetry, creating a novel optoelectronic phenomenon in the promising material molybdenum disulfide (MoS2) — for the first time.

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Argonne National Laboratory (Argonne) in collaboration with Oak Ridge National Laboratory (ORNL), has awarded Codeplay a contract implementing the oneAPI DPC++ compiler, an implementation of the SYCL open standard software, to support AMD GPU-based high-performance compute (HPC) supercomputers.

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Machine learning techniques are accelerating the development of stronger alloys for power plants, which will yield efficiency, cost, and decarbonization benefits.

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A Penn State-led team of researchers report they have taken a step toward overcoming the challenge of inexpensive hydrogen production by using supercomputers to find materials that could help accelerate hydrogen separation when water is exposed to light, a process called photocatalysis.

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Researchers at the University of Illinois Chicago have successfully used graphene — one of the strongest, thinnest known materials — to detect the SARS-CoV-2 virus in laboratory experiments.

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PNNL intern Ki Ahn spent this past year as an undergraduate at PNNL gaining hands-on research experience in clean energy storage technologies for vehicles and aviation. Ahn is enrolling in Stanford University this fall to finish his bachelor’s degree. With plans to major in mechanical engineering or computer science, he wants to explore how future aircraft technologies can be designed to reduce harmful environmental effects.

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New energy-efficient dehumidifier technology holds promise to reduce energy consumption in residential A/C systems and increase the range of electric vehicles.

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An Argonne engineer applied a specific type of artificial intelligence to the problem of how to predict material structures by only knowing some of their properties. This first-of-its-kind discovery led to further insights into the long-term durability of nuclear materials.

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PNNL's Dongsheng Li’s crystal formation research helped reveal why nanoparticles sometimes self-assemble into five-sided shapes. The discovery will potentially be useful in medical research, electronics, and other applications.

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The big holes in Swiss cheese help make it a tasty treat. Now, scientists at PPPL are adding tiny, Swiss-cheese-type holes to components to improve the process of bringing to Earth the fusion energy that powers the sun and stars.

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A study led by University of Minnesota Twin Cities researchers uncovered a property of magnetic materials that will allow engineers to develop more efficient spintronic devices in the future. Spintronics focuses on using the magnetic “spin” property of electrons instead of their charge, which improves the speed and efficiency of devices used for computing and data storage.

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Researchers have created a plant-based, sustainable, scalable material that could replace single-use plastics in many consumer products.

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The research and innovation building NEST of Empa and Eawag can now be visited virtually at any time and from anywhere in the world. The launch of the virtual NEST tour is a further step towards closing the gap between laboratory research and market entry. By making numerous innovations, developed and demonstrated at NEST, accessible to a much broader and more international audience, the virtual NEST is making a significant contribution to ensuring that sustainable innovations in the building and energy sector can spread faster and thus gain a foothold in the construction industry.

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Iowa State students, faculty and staff are planning for what will happen to the approximately 500 plexiglass barriers that were erected to protect public health during the COVID-19 pandemic.

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A new technology could dramatically improve the safety and performance of lithium-ion batteries that operate with gas electrolytes at ultra-low temperatures. By keeping electrolytes from vaporizing, the technology can prevent pressure buildup inside the battery that leads to swelling and explosions.

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Researchers have discovered a new electronic property at the frontier between the thermal and quantum sciences in a specially engineered metal alloy – and in the process identified a promising material for future devices that could turn heat on and off with the application of a magnetic “switch.”

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Scientists studied what happens when very short pulses of laser light strike a magnetic material. Understanding how magnetic correlations change over short timescales is the first step in being able to control magnetism for applications.

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MIT researchers have created the first fiber with digital capabilities, able to sense, store, analyze, and infer activity after being sewn into a shirt.

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UPTON, NY—A team of researchers led by chemists at the U.S. Department of Energy’s (DOE) Brookhaven National Laboratory has studied an elusive property in cathode materials, called a valence gradient, to understand its effect on battery performance. The findings, published in Nature Communications, demonstrated that the valence gradient can serve as a new approach for stabilizing the structure of high-nickel-content cathodes against degradation and safety issues.

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The number of data-transmitting microdevices, for instance in packaging and transport logistics, will increase sharply in the coming years. All these devices need energy, but the amount of batteries would have a major impact on the environment. Empa researchers have developed a biodegradable mini-capacitor that can solve the problem. It consists of carbon, cellulose, glycerin and table salt. And it works reliably.

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Scientists replicate the molecular properties of the natural cement used by barnacles and mussels to create a powerful adhesive using silk protein. The new adhesive can work well in both dry and underwater conditions.

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To help the field grow, Seshadri Ramkumar – now a professor of advanced materials – has partnered with the Indian government and technical textiles organizations around the world to host conferences in India since the early 2000s.

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Scientists at Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory (LLNL) have determined that heating N95 respirators up to 75 degrees Celsius for 30 minutes deactivates a surrogate coronavirus without compromising the device’s fit and its ability to filter airborne particles.

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Researchers at Aalto University, in collaboration with Finnish acoustics company Lumir, have now studied how the acoustic solutions around us could become more eco-friendly, with the help of cellulose fibres. The acoustic insulation market is already expected to hit 15 billion USD by 2022 as construction firms and industry pay more attention to sound environments.

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ORNL story tips: Un-Earthly ice, buildings in the loop, batteries unbound and 3D printing for geothermal

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Penn State graduate students in materials science and materials engineering learn valuable career skills such as concise presentation of their research and win prizes during the 2021 Millennium Café PPG Elevator Pitch Competition on May 15 and May 18.

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Researchers have combined two or three types of nanoparticles to produce new materials with structures known as superlattices. In some instances, the structures display fundamental new properties such as superfluorescence. The researchers' discovery is reported in the journal Nature.

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Irvine, Calif., May 27, 2021 — The U.S. Department of Energy Office of Science has awarded funding to two University of California, Irvine scientists under its DOE Early Career Research Program. Mohammad Abdolhosseini Qomi, assistant professor of civil and environmental engineering, and Penghui Cao, assistant professor of mechanical and aerospace engineering, were among 83 researchers selected from university and national laboratory applicants to receive the research awards.

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Researchers have discovered that engineering one-dimensional line defects into certain materials can increase their electrical performance.

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The DOE Early Career Research Program supports exceptional researchers during the crucial early years of their careers and helps advance scientific discovery in fundamental sciences

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Mark B. Chadwick, chief scientist and chief operating officer of Weapons Physics, and Stuart A. Maloy, deputy group leader for Materials Science at Radiation and Dynamic Extremes, were named fellows, while D.V. Rao, program director for the Laboratory’s Civilian Nuclear Program, earned a special award for making advanced nuclear energy systems a reality.

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Six Argonne scientists receive Department of Energy’s Early Career Research Program Awards.

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An international team led by Empa and ETH Zurich researchers is playing with shape-engineered nanoscale building blocks that are up to 100-times larger than atoms and ions. And although these nano "Lego bricks" interact with each other with forces vastly different and much weaker than those holding atoms and ions together, they form crystals all by themselves, the structures of which resemble the ones of natural minerals. These new mega-crystals or superlattices that are depicted on the cover of the latest issue of "Nature" exhibit unique properties such as superfluorescence – and may well usher in a new era in materials science