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Blocking vibrations that remove heat could boost efficiency of next-gen solar cells

DOE/Oak Ridge National Laboratory
Peer-Reviewed Publication

Led by the Department of Energy's Oak Ridge National Laboratory and the University of Tennessee, Knoxville, a study of a solar-energy material with a bright future revealed a way to slow phonons, the waves that transport heat. The discovery could improve novel hot-carrier solar cells, which convert sunlight to electricity more efficiently than conventional solar cells by harnessing photogenerated charge carriers before they lose energy to heat.

Journal: Science Advances
Funder: United States Department of Energy Office of Energy Efficiency and Renewable Energy's Vehicle Technology Office, United States Department of Homeland Security, DOE/US Department of Energy

Neutrons reveal behavior of cholesterol in membranes

DOE/Oak Ridge National Laboratory

Neutron scattering at the Department of Energy's Oak Ridge National Laboratory has shown that cholesterol stiffens simple lipid membranes, a finding that may help us better understand the functioning of human cells.

ORNL, DOE unveil new capabilities for advanced manufacturing recycling and autonomous vehicles

DOE/Oak Ridge National Laboratory

Oak Ridge National Laboratory and Department of Energy officials dedicated the launch of two clean energy research initiatives that focus on the recycling and recovery of advanced manufacturing materials and on connected and autonomous vehicle technologies.

Scientists achieve higher precision weak force measurement between protons, neutrons

DOE/Oak Ridge National Laboratory
Peer-Reviewed Publication

Through a one-of-a-kind experiment at Oak Ridge National Laboratory, nuclear physicists have precisely measured the weak interaction between protons and neutrons. The result quantifies the weak force theory as predicted by the Standard Model of Particle Physics.

Journal: Physical Review Letters
Funder: Spallation Neutron Source at ORNL, National Science Foundation, DOE's Office of Office Science, Natural Sciences and Engineering Research Council of Canada

Novel cell membrane model could be key to uncovering new protein properties

DOE/Oak Ridge National Laboratory
Peer-Reviewed Publication

Researchers have recently shed light on how cell membrane proteins could be influenced by the lipids around them. By developing a novel type of membrane model, they were able to show that the shape and behavior of a protein can be altered by exposure to different lipid compositions. The research team confirmed the artificial membrane's structure through neutron and x-ray scattering at the Department of Energy's (DOE's) Brookhaven (BNL) and Oak Ridge National Laboratories (ORNL).

Journal: Journal of the American Chemical Society
Funder: Department of Energy Office of Biological and Environmental Research, Department of Energy Office of Basic Energy Sciences, National Science Foundation, National Institutes of Health

New composite material revs up pursuit of advanced electric vehicles

DOE/Oak Ridge National Laboratory
Peer-Reviewed Publication

Scientists at Oak Ridge National Laboratory used new techniques to create a composite that increases the electrical current capacity of copper wires, providing a new material that can be scaled for use in ultra-efficient, power-dense electric vehicle traction motors.

Journal: ACS Applied Nano Materials
Funder: DOE/US Department of Energy, Office of Energy Efficiency and Renewable Energy's Vehicle Technologies Office

Fast fabrication: ORNL develops, produces metal hydride for moderator in 3D-printed reactor

DOE/Oak Ridge National Laboratory

Researchers thought yttrium hydride would be an ideal moderator for the new Transformational Challenge Reactor, but no one had yet figured out how to produce the large, crack-free pieces needed. An ORNL scientist developed a process and invented a machine to do that -- in only 10 months.

Prometheus Fuels licenses energy-saving ORNL ethanol-to-jet-fuel process

DOE/Oak Ridge National Laboratory
Business Announcement

Prometheus Fuels has licensed an ethanol-to-jet-fuel conversion process developed by researchers at the Department of Energy's Oak Ridge National Laboratory. The ORNL technology will enable cost-competitive production of jet fuel and co-production of butadiene for use in renewable polymer synthesis.

First fiber-optic nanotip electron gun enables easier nanoscale research

DOE/Oak Ridge National Laboratory

Scientists at Oak Ridge National Laboratory and the University of Nebraska have developed an easier way to generate electrons for nanoscale imaging and sensing, providing a useful new tool for material science, bioimaging and fundamental quantum research.

Quantum light squeezes the noise out of microscopy signals

DOE/Oak Ridge National Laboratory
Peer-Reviewed Publication

Researchers at the Department of Energy's Oak Ridge National Laboratory used quantum optics to advance state-of-the-art microscopy and illuminate a path to detecting material properties with greater sensitivity than is possible with traditional tools. 'We showed how to use squeezed light -- a workhorse of quantum information science -- as a practical resource for microscopy,' said Ben Lawrie, who led the research with Raphael Pooser.

Journal: Physical Review Letters
Funder: Oak Ridge National Laboratory's Laboratory Directed Research and Development Program, DOE/US Department of Energy

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