U.S. Department of Energy Research News

Public Release: 4-Jun-2013

Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences
Spintronics approach enables new quantum technologies
A team of researchers including members of the University of Chicago's Institute for Molecular Engineering highlight the power of emerging quantum technologies in two recent papers published in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences (PNAS). These technologies exploit quantum mechanics, the physics that dominates the atomic world, to perform disparate tasks such as nanoscale temperature measurement and processing quantum information with lasers.

Air Force Office of Scientific Research, Defense Advanced Research Planning Agency, US Department of Energy, US Army Research Office

Public Release: 4-Jun-2013
Using laser-driven neutrons to stop nuclear smugglers
Los Alamos National Laboratory researchers have successfully demonstrated for the first time that laser-generated neutrons can be enlisted as a useful tool in the War on Terror.

Public Release: 4-Jun-2013

Nature Communications
Los Alamos catalyst could jump-start e-cars, green energy
Los Alamos National Laboratory scientists have designed a new type of nanostructured-carbon-based catalyst that could pave the way for reliable, economical next-generation batteries and alkaline fuel cells, providing for practical use of wind- and solar-powered electricity, as well as enhanced hybrid electric vehicles.

Public Release: 4-Jun-2013

Journal of the American Ceramic Society
Roman seawater concrete holds the secret to cutting carbon emissions
At Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory's Advanced Light Source, scientists analyzed samples from a Roman breakwater submerged in the Bay of Naples for over two millennia, revealing the secrets of crystal chemistry that allow Roman seawater concrete to resist chemical attack and wave action for centuries. Materials and processes for manufacturing extraordinarily durable Roman maritime concrete released much less carbon than most modern concrete, presenting important opportunities for better quality and reduction of atmospheric carbon.

KAUST, Harvard/Loeb Classical Lib Foundation, US Department of Energy Office of Science

Public Release: 4-Jun-2013

Nature Communications
Stanford scientists create novel silicon electrodes that improve lithium-ion batteries
Stanford University scientists have dramatically improved the performance of lithium-ion batteries by creating novel electrodes made of silicon and conducting polymer hydrogel, a spongy material similar to that used in contact lenses and other household products. The scientists developed a new technique for producing low-cost, silicon-based batteries with potential applications for a wide range of electrical devices.

Stanford University/Precourt Institute for Energy, US Department of Energy/SLAC

Public Release: 3-Jun-2013

Physical Review Letters
Dense hydrogen in a new light
Hydrogen is the most abundant element in the universe. The way it responds under extreme pressures and temperatures is crucial to our understanding of matter and the nature of hydrogen-rich planets. New work from Carnegie scientists using intense infrared radiation shines new light on this fundamental material at extreme pressures and reveals the details of a surprising new form of solid hydrogen.

National Science Foundation, US Department of Energy

Public Release: 3-Jun-2013
June 2013 story tips
The following are story ideas from the Department of Energy's Oak Ridge National Laboratory for June 2013.

Public Release: 2-Jun-2013

Nature Materials
Printing innovations provide 10-fold improvement in organic electronics
SLAC and Stanford researchers have developed a new, printing process for organic thin-film electronics that results in films of strikingly higher quality.

US Department of Energy Office of Science

Public Release: 30-May-2013

ACS Nano
Nano-engineering boosts efficiency of materials that convert waste heat to electrical energy
High-performance thermoelectric materials that convert waste heat to electricity could one day be a source of more sustainable power. But they need to be a lot more efficient before they could be effective on a broad scale in places like power plants or military bases, researchers say.

US Department of Energy Office of Science, Energy Frontier Research Center

Public Release: 30-May-2013

Science
Scientists capture first images of molecules before and after reaction
Using atomic force microscopy, chemists for the first time can capture images of molecules before and after they react, which will allow them to better tune reactions to get the products they want. UC Berkeley chemist Felix Fischer and physicist Michael Crommie joined forces to develop the technique, which could help scientists study and improve catalytic reactions like those used widely in industry to make chemicals or crack oil.

Office of Naval Research, US Department of Energy, National Science Foundation

Public Release: 30-May-2013

Science
Atom by atom, bond by bond, a chemical reaction caught in the act
Scientists at Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory and the University of California at Berkeley have produced remarkable images of carbon atoms and the bonds among them. Resembling glowing textbook diagrams, hydrocarbon molecules are shown in high resolution for the first time before and after bond-breaking, rearrangement, and reforming of bonds during a complex chemical reaction.

Office of Naval Research, Department of Energy Office of Science, National Science Foundation, European Research Council

Public Release: 29-May-2013

Nano Letters
Organic polymers show sunny potential
A new version of solar cells created by laboratories at Rice and Pennsylvania State universities could open the door to research on a new class of solar energy devices.

National Science Foundation, US Department of Energy, Welch Foundation, Shell Center for Sustainablility and Owen Family Foundation

Public Release: 28-May-2013
Key hydrogen report now available on OpenEnergyInfo wiki site
As part of the Open Government initiative launched by the Obama Administration, Sandia National Laboratories' Technical Reference on Hydrogen Compatibility of Materials has made its debut on the Energy Dataset of OpenEnergyInfo, or OpenEI. This will make the publication more widely available and easier to access.

DOE Fuel Cells Technologies Office

Public Release: 27-May-2013

Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences
The formula for turning cement into metal
In a move that would make the alchemists of King Arthur's time green with envy, scientists have unraveled the formula for turning liquid cement into liquid metal. This makes cement a semi-conductor and opens up its use in the profitable consumer electronics marketplace for thin films, protective coatings, and computer chips.

National Science Foundation, US Department of Energy

Public Release: 23-May-2013
PNNL staff recognized for scientific accomplishments, moving technologies into the marketplace
Pacific Northwest National Laboratory honored more than 165 staff for their creation, development and commercialization of intellectual property at PNNL's annual Intellectual Property Commercialization Recognition & Rewards Program banquet.

US Department of Energy

Public Release: 22-May-2013
PNNL-developed injection molding process recognized with emerging technologies award
An injection-molding method that has potential to aid the aerospace, biomedical and auto industries by increasing the use of titanium and other durable, lightweight and corrosion-resistant metals has earned a national innovation award.

Department of Energy

Public Release: 22-May-2013

Advanced Functional Materials
Innovation could bring flexible solar cells, transistors, displays
Researchers have created a new type of transparent electrode that might find uses in solar cells, flexible displays for computers and consumer electronics and future "optoelectronic" circuits for sensors and information processing.

US Department of Energy

Public Release: 21-May-2013

Nature Nanotechnology
Whirlpools on the nanoscale could multiply magnetic memory
Research at Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory's Advanced Light Source promises four-bit magnetic cells instead of the two-bit magnetic domains of standard magnetic memories. Magnetic vortices are whirlpools of magnetic field, in which electron spins point either clockwise or counterclockwise. In the crowded center of the whirlpool the spins point either down or up. These four orientations could represent separate bits of information in a new kind of memory, if controlled independently and simultaneously.

US Department of Energy Office of Science, European Regional Development Fund, Czech Republic Grant Agency

Public Release: 21-May-2013
Solar and lithium ion car race winners announced
Ninety-seven teams from 28 Colorado schools participated in today's car competitions hosted by the US Department of Energy's National Renewable Energy Laboratory. The student teams raced solar and lithium ion powered vehicles they designed and built themselves.

US Department of Energy

Public Release: 20-May-2013
Not just blowing in the wind: Compressing air for renewable energy storage
A comprehensive study into the potential for compressed air energy storage in the Pacific Northwest has identified two locations in Washington state that could store enough wind energy to power about 85,000 homes each month.

Bonneville Power Administration, DOE/Pacific Northwest National Laboratory

Public Release: 19-May-2013

Nature Materials
Kinks and curves at the nanoscale
Since 2004, materials scientists and nanotechnology experts have been excited about a special of arrangement of atoms called a "coherent twin boundary" that can add enormous strength to metals like gold and copper. The CTBs are described as "perfect," appearing like a one-atom-thick plane in models and images. New research shows that these boundaries are not perfect. Even more surprising, the newly discovered kinks and defects appear to be the cause of the CTB's strength.

US Department of Energy, National Science Foundation, NASA

Public Release: 16-May-2013

Science
Stacking 2-D materials produces surprising results
New experiments reveal previously unseen effects, could lead to new kinds of electronics and optical devices.

US Department of Energy, Gordon and Betty Moore Foundation, National Science Foundation

Public Release: 16-May-2013

Journal of Physical Chemistry Letters
Add boron for better batteries
A graphene-boron compound is theoretically capable of storing double the energy of common graphite anodes used in lithium-ion batteries.

Honda Research Institute, US Department of Energy

Public Release: 16-May-2013

Nano Letters
Artificial forest for solar water-splitting
Berkeley Lab researchers have created the first fully integrated artificial photosynthesis nanosystem. While "artificial leaf" is the popular term for such a system, the key to this success was an "artificial forest."

US Department of Energy Office of Science

Public Release: 16-May-2013

ACS Nano
DNA-guided assembly yields novel ribbon-like nanostructures
DNA "linker" strands coax nano-sized rods to line up in way unlike any other spontaneous arrangement of rod-shaped objects. The arrangement -- with the rods forming "rungs" on ladder-like ribbons could result in the fabrication of new nanostructured materials with desired properties.

DOE Office of Science