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Hydrogen fuel from sunlight

DOE/Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory
Peer-Reviewed Publication

Berkeley Lab researchers at the Joint Center for Artificial Photosynthesis have developed a way to interface a molecular hydrogen-producing catalyst with a visible light absorbing semiconductor. With this approach, hydrogen fuel can be produced off a photocathode using sunlight.

Journal: Journal of the American Chemical Society
Funder: DOE/US Department of Energy

No evidence of residential property value impacts near US wind turbines

DOE/Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory
Peer-Reviewed Publication

After analyzing more than 50,000 home sales near 63 wind facilities in 27 counties across nine US states, Berkeley Lab researchers were unable to uncover any impacts to nearby home property values. "We find no evidence that operating turbines have any measureable impact on home sales prices," says Ben Hoen, the study's lead author.

Funder: US Department of Energy/Office of Energy Efficiency and Renewable Energy

Size matters as nanocrystals go through phases

DOE/Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory
Peer-Reviewed Publication

Berkeley Lab researchers at the Molecular Foundry have demonstrated that as metal nanocrystals go through phase transformations, size can make a much bigger difference than scientists previously believed.

Journal: Nature Materials
Funder: US Department of Energy's Office of Science

Computer simulations indicate calcium carbonate has a dense liquid phase

DOE/Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory
Peer-Reviewed Publication

Computer simulations conducted at Berkeley Lab could help scientists make sense of a recently observed and puzzling wrinkle in one of nature's most important chemical processes. It turns out that calcium carbonate -- the ubiquitous compound that is a major component of seashells, limestone, concrete, antacids and myriad other substances -- may momentarily exist in liquid form as it crystallizes from solution.

Journal: Science

New results from Daya Bay

DOE/Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory
Peer-Reviewed Publication

New results about the oscillation of neutrinos -- elusive, ghostlike particles that carry invaluable clues about the makeup of the early universe -- have been announced by the Daya Bay Collaboration, an international experiment taking place outside of Hong Kong.

Funder: US Department of Energy's Office of Science
Meeting: XVth International Workshop on Neutrino Factories, Super Beams and Beta Beams

Raising the IQ of smart windows

DOE/Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory
Peer-Reviewed Publication

Researchers at Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory have designed a new material to make smart windows even smarter. The material is a thin coating of nanocrystals embedded in glass that can dynamically modify sunlight as it passes through a window. Unlike existing technologies, the coating provides selective control over visible light and heat-producing near-infrared light, so windows can maximize both energy savings and occupant comfort in a wide range of climates.

Journal: Nature
Funder: DOE/US Department of Energy

1-pot to prep biomass for biofuels

DOE/Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory
Peer-Reviewed Publication

Joint BioEnergy Institute researchers save water and reduce pollution with the first one-pot, wash-free, process for the ionic liquid pretreatment and saccharification of switchgrass, one of the leading biofuel feedstock candidates.

Journal: Green Chemistry
Funder: US Department of Energy's Office of Science

Early solar system garnet-like mineral named for Livermore cosmochemist

DOE/Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory
Business Announcement

A recently discovered mineral appears to be clear but may have a tinge of light blue. No matter its color, you won't be able to make earrings from it.

New twist in the graphene story

DOE/Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory
Peer-Reviewed Publication

Berkeley Lab researchers, working at the Advanced Light Source, have discovered that in the making of bilayer graphene, a tiny structural twist arises that can lead to surprisingly strong changes in the material's electronic properties.

Journal: Nature Materials
Funder: US Department of Energy's Office of Science

LLNL scientists make new discoveries in the transmission of viruses between animals and humans

DOE/Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory
Peer-Reviewed Publication

Outbreaks such as the severe acute respiratory syndrome (SARS) Middle East respiratory syndrome coronavirus (MERS) have afflicted people around the world, yet many people think these trends are on the decline.

Journal: Journal of General Virology