News

This graphene nanoribbon was made bottom-up from a molecular precursor. Nanoribbon width and edge effects influence electronic behavior. Image credit: Oak Ridge National Laboratory, U.S. Dept. of Energy.

Built from the bottom up, nanoribbons pave the way to ‘on–off’ states for graphene

March 30, 2017

A new way to grow narrow ribbons of graphene, a lightweight and strong structure of single-atom-thick carbon atoms linked into hexagons, may address a shortcoming that has prevented the material from achieving its full potential in electronic applications.

ORNL’s Xiahan Sang unambiguously resolved the atomic structure of MXene, a 2D material promising for energy storage, catalysis and electronic conductivity. Image credit: Oak Ridge National Laboratory, U.S. Dept. of Energy; photographer Carlos Jones

Two-dimensional MXene materials get their close-up

March 14, 2017

Researchers have long sought electrically conductive materials for economical energy-storage devices. Two-dimensional (2D) ceramics called MXenes are contenders.

Depicted at left, small nanoparticles stick to segments of polymer chain that are about the same size as the nanoparticles themselves; these interactions produce a polymer nanocomposite that is easier to process because nanoparticles move fast, quickly ma

Small nanoparticles have surprisingly big effects on polymer nanocomposites

March 8, 2017

Polymer nanocomposites mix particles billionths of a meter (nanometers, nm) in diameter with polymers, which are long molecular chains.

Water is seen as small red and white molecules on large nanodiamond spheres. The colored tRNA can be seen on the nanodiamond surface. Image by Michael Mattheson, OLCF, ORNL

Diamonds that deliver

February 24, 2017

It’s not enough to design new drugs. For drugs to be effective, they have to be delivered safely and intact to affected areas of the body. And drug delivery, much like drug design, is an immensely complex task.

3-D visualization of chemically-ordered phases in an iron-platinum (FePt) nanoparticle.

Supercomputing, Experiment Combine for First Look at Magnetism of Real Nanoparticle

February 2, 2017

Barely wider than a strand of human DNA, magnetic nanoparticles—such as those made from iron and platinum atoms—are promising materials for next-generation recording and storage devices like hard drives.

ORNL wins six R&D 100 Awards

November 16, 2015

Researchers at the Department of Energy’s Oak Ridge National Laboratory have received six R&D 100 Awards, increasing the lab’s total to 193 since the award’s inception in 1963.

Using high-performance computing, ORNL researchers are modelling the atomic structure of new alloys to select the best candidates for physical experimentation.

Atoms to Engines

November 10, 2015

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

Conceptual art connects the atomic underpinnings of the neutron-rich calcium-48 nucleus with the Crab Nebula, which has a neutron star at its heart. Zeros and ones depict the computational power needed to explore objects that differ in size by 18 orders o

Calcium-48’s ‘neutron skin’ thinner than previously thought

November 2, 2015

An international team led by Gaute Hagen of the Department of Energy’s Oak Ridge National Laboratory used America’s most powerful supercomputer, Titan, to compute the neutron distribution and related observables of calcium-48

Materials - Accelerating discovery

October 6, 2015

Steady progress in the development of advanced materials has led to modern civilization’s foundational technologies—better batteries, resilient building materials and atom-scale semiconductors.

The “Big, Deep and Smart Data Analytics in Materials Imaging” workshop

Eyes on the Prize

August 11, 2015

In the Stone, Bronze and Iron Ages, the state of the art of materials science defined technology’s zenith and accelerated economies.

Materials