A first-of-its-kind catalyst mimics natural processes to break down plastic and produce valuable new products

A team of scientists led by the U.S. Department of Energy’s Ames Laboratory has developed a first-of-its-kind catalyst that is able to process polyolefin plastics, types of polymers widely used in things like plastic grocery bags, milk jugs,...
19-Oct-2020 12:10 PM EDT Add to Favorites

New Nitrogen Assembly Carbon catalyst has potential to transform chemical manufacturing

Scientists at the U.S. Department of Energy’s Ames Laboratory have discovered a metal-free carbon-based catalyst that has the potential to be much less expensive and more efficient for many industrial concerns, including manufacturing of bio- and...
26-Aug-2020 1:05 PM EDT Add to Favorites

Ames Lab-led research team wins a $12.8M boost from the Department of Energy to tackle plastic upcycling science

The U.S. Department of Energy’s Ames Laboratory will lead the Institute for Cooperative Upcycling of Plastics (iCOUP) Energy Frontier Research Center (EFRC), with $12.8 million in funding over four years.
20-Jul-2020 2:10 PM EDT Add to Favorites

Using chaos as a tool, scientists discover new method of making 3D-heterostructured materials

Scientists at the U.S. Department of Energy’s Ames Laboratory and their collaborators from Iowa State University have developed a new approach for generating layered, difficult-to-combine, heterostructured solids. Heterostructured materials,...
23-Jun-2020 2:35 PM EDT Add to Favorites

Lograsso named Critical Materials Institute Director

Dr. Thomas Lograsso has been named director of the U.S. Department of Energy’s Critical Materials Institute (CMI) at Ames Laboratory.
27-May-2020 5:20 PM EDT Add to Favorites

New discovery helps close the gap towards optically-controlled quantum computation

Scientists have discovered a light-induced switching mechanism in a Dirac semimetal. The mechanism establishes a new way to control the topological material, driven by back-and-forth motion of atoms and electrons, which will enable topological...
20-Apr-2020 12:25 PM EDT Add to Favorites

Finding the beat: New discovery settles a long-standing debate about photovoltaic materials

Scientists have theorized that organometallic halide perovskites— a class of light harvesting “wonder” materials for applications in solar cells and quantum electronics— are so promising due to an unseen yet highly controversial mechanism...
17-Apr-2020 12:35 PM EDT Add to Favorites

Topological materials outperform through quantum periodic motion

Scientists at the U.S. Department of Energy’s Ames Laboratory have discovered that applying vibrational motion in a periodic manner may be the key to preventing dissipations of the desired electron states that would make advanced quantum computing...
18-Feb-2020 12:10 PM EST Add to Favorites

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