Researchers studying the behavior of nanoscale materials at the Department of Energy’s Oak Ridge National Laboratory have uncovered remarkable behavior that could advance microprocessors beyond today’s silicon-based chips. The study, featured on the cover of Advanced Electronic Materials, shows that a single crystal complex oxide material, when confined to micro- and nanoscales, can act like a […]
Complex Materials Can Self-organize into Circuits, May Form Basis for Multifunction Chips
Researchers studying the behavior of nanoscale materials at the Department of Energy’s Oak Ridge National Laboratory have uncovered remarkable behavior that could advance microprocessors beyond today’s silicon-based chips. The study, featured on the cover of Advanced Electronic Materials, shows that a single crystal complex oxide material, when confined to micro- and nanoscales, can act like a […]
Titan Shines Light on High-Temperature Superconductor Pathway
When physicists Georg Bednorz and K. Alex Muller discovered the first high-temperature superconductors in 1986, it didn’t take much imagination to envision the potential technological benefits of harnessing such materials. High-temperature superconductors are materials that can transport electricity with perfect efficiency at or near liquid nitrogen temperatures (-196 degrees Celsius). Though their operating temperature may […]
Speedy Ion Conduction in Solid Electrolytes Clears Road for Advanced Energy Devices
In a rechargeable battery, the electrolyte transports lithium ions from the negative to the positive electrode during discharging. The path of ionic flow reverses during recharging. The organic liquid electrolytes in commercial lithium-ion batteries are flammable and subject to leakage, making their large-scale application potentially problematic. Solid electrolytes, in contrast, overcome these challenges, but their […]
Neutron ‘Splashes’ Reveal Signature of Exotic Particles
Researchers at the Department of Energy’s Oak Ridge National Laboratory used neutrons to uncover novel behavior in materials that holds promise for quantum computing. The findings, published in Nature Materials, provide evidence for long-sought phenomena in a two-dimensional magnet. In 2006, the physicist Alexei Kitaev developed a theoretical model of microscopic magnets (“spins”) that interact in […]
Advanced Energy Storage Material Gets Unprecedented Nanoscale Analysis
Researchers at the Department of Energy’s Oak Ridge National Laboratory have combined advanced in-situ microscopy and theoretical calculations to uncover important clues to the properties of a promising next-generation energy storage material for supercapacitors and batteries. ORNL’s Fluid Interface Reactions, Structures and Transport (FIRST) research team, using scanning probe microscopy made available through the Center […]
New Method Could Unleash Solar Power Potential
Measurement and data analysis techniques developed at the Department of Energy’s Oak Ridge National Laboratory could provide new insight into performance-robbing flaws in crystalline structures, ultimately improving the performance of solar cells. While solar cells made from light-harvesting perovskite (an organic-inorganic hybrid) materials have recently eclipsed the 20 percent efficiency mark, researchers believe they could […]
Study Seeks Nature’s Best Biocatalysts For Biofuel Production
Researchers at the Department of Energy’s BioEnergy Science Center are looking beyond the usual suspects in the search for microbes that can efficiently break down inedible plant matter for conversion to biofuels. A new comparative study from the Oak Ridge National Laboratory-based center finds the natural abilities of unconventional bacteria could help boost the efficiency […]
ORNL Process Could Be White Lightning to Electronics Industry
A new era of electronics and even quantum devices could be ushered in with the fabrication of a virtually perfect single layer of “white graphene,” according to researchers at the Department of Energy’s Oak Ridge National Laboratory. The material, technically known as hexagonal boron nitride, features better transparency than its sister, graphene, is chemically inert, or […]
Researchers Use High-Performance Computing To Drive Alloy Design
The Department of Energy’s Oak Ridge National Laboratory, FCA US LLC, and the foundry giant, Nemak of Mexico, are combining their strengths to create lightweight powertrain materials that will help the auto industry speed past the technological roadblocks to its target of 54.5 miles per gallon by 2025. Automakers need powertrain materials that are not […]