Jan, 2027
Journal
Selective Cr dissolution and redistribution in Fe-Cr during localized FLiNaK salt exposure
Understanding the atomic-scale origins of corrosion in molten fluoride salt environments is essential for developing resilient materials for advanced nuclear and energy systems. Here, we investigate the response of an epitaxially grown Fe-8Cr alloy film to localized FLiNaK salt exposure to elucidate early-stage degradation mechanisms. High-resolution scanning transmission…
Dec, 2026
Journal
Achieving long retention in area-dependent resistive memory with phase-separated amorphous tantalum oxide
Resistive random-access memory (ReRAM) is a promising nonvolatile memory technology. Most ReRAMs exhibit a fundamental tradeoff; filament-type ReRAM provides long data retention but suffers from poor uniformity and high switching current, whereas nonfilamentary ReRAM shows lower-current, area-dependent switching but poor retention. We present a two-terminal Ta2O5/TaOx resi…
Nov, 2026
Journal
Reactive atmosphere fabrication of nanostructured alumina-forming austenitic alloys for nuclear applications
Although advanced austenitic alloys are advantageous in non-nuclear applications due to their high creep strength, designing irradiation-resistant austenitic alloys is challenging due to the difficulty of dispersing irradiation defect-capturing sinks uniformly throughout the material. In this work, nanostructured alumina-forming austenitic (NAFA) alloys were successfully p…
Oct, 2026
Journal
Beyond Scalar Objectives: Expert-Feedback-Driven Autonomous Experimentation for Scientific Discovery at the Nanoscale
Self-driving laboratories or autonomous experimentation are emerging as transformative platforms for accelerating scientific discovery. Bayesian optimization (BO) is among the most widely used machine learning frameworks in self-driving laboratories, but these BO-based frameworks rely on predefined scalar descriptors to guide experimentation. This limits their ability to h…
Oct, 2026
Journal
Annealing SrTiO3 produces an iron-rich surface layer
SrTiO3 (STO) is among the most widely used substrates in complex oxide heterostructure research, yet the role of its trace impurity content in determining interface properties remains poorly understood. Here, we show that high-temperature annealing (the standard procedure for preparing TiO2-terminated STO surfaces) universally drives Fe impurities from the substrate bulk t…
Oct, 2026
Journal
Glissile Interphase Boundaries Enable Collective Phase Switching in Epitaxial Polar Oxides
A polar oxide on the brink displays enhanced electromechanical response, classically from a combination of phase competition and domain wall motion. In epitaxial thin films, however, such enhancement is widely suppressed by substrate clamping, which immobilizes structural interfaces. Here, we show that by using a substrate that imposes directionally asymmetric strain, one…
Oct, 2026
Journal
Establishing Atomic Coherence in Twisted Oxide Membranes Containing Volatile Elements
Twisted oxide membranes represent a promising platform for exploring moiré physics and emergent quantum phenomena. However, the presence of amorphous interfacial “dead” layers in conventional oxide heterostructures impedes coherent coupling and suppresses moiré-induced interactions. While high-temperature thermal treatments can facilitate interfacial bonding, additional ca…
Oct, 2026
Journal
Defect-stimulated amorphous track formation in SrTiO3 and KTaO3—application of analytical thermal spike model
Oxide perovskites exhibit fascinating properties that identify them as key materials for the next generation of multifunctional devices; however, their response to irradiation is complicated. In this work, pre-existing defects/disorder, introduced by ion irradiation, stimulate amorphous track formation at 300 K in single crystal SrTiO3 and KTaO3 irradiated with high-energy…
Oct, 2026
Journal
A unified resolution and multiple-scattering correction framework for Spallation Neutron Source ultra-small-angle neutron scattering and complementary small-angle neutron scattering
Ultra-small-angle neutron scattering (USANS) measurements at the Spallation Neutron Source (SNS) at Oak Ridge require careful treatment of slit-geometry resolution effects and, in many cases, multiple scattering in complementary small-angle neutron scattering (SANS) data before meaningful structural interpretation can be made. We present a unified data-reduction framework…
Sep, 2026
Journal
Revealing a Pretreatment-Induced ZnO/Na–Fe2C Working Interface for CO2 Hydrogenation to C2+ Oxygenates
CO2 hydrogenation to C2+ oxygenates remains challenging because the working structures responsible for C–C coupling are often complex, dynamic, air-sensitive, and poorly defined. In this work, we studied a Zn–Fe system (Zn:Fe = 1:3) doped with 0.3 wt % Na. By pretreating the as-synthesized catalyst under different conditions (not-pretreated, H2-pretreated, CO-pretreated, a…
Sep, 2026
Journal
Unraveling Spatial Electrochemical Heterogeneity and Additive-Mediated Regulation in Scale-up Aqueous Zinc-Ion Pouch-Type Cells
Scaling aqueous zinc-ion batteries (AZIBs) to pouch-type configurations amplifies electric-field and Zn2+ flux heterogeneities, causing non-uniform Zn deposition. Here, β-cyclodextrin (β-CD) and Tween 80 (Tw80) are systematically investigated to decouple bulk transport and interfacial kinetic regulation in scale-up pouch-type cells. β-CD increases ionic conductivity (3.44…
Sep, 2026
Journal
Fingerprinting Superconductors by Disentangling Andreev and Quasiparticle Currents Across Tunable Tunnel Junctions
Tunneling Andreev reflection (TAR) spectroscopy provides a new approach to identify superconducting pairing symmetry at the atomic scale. Using atomistic superconducting transport simulations, we reveal the mechanism by which TAR can distinguish between pairing symmetries, which is complementary to traditional conductance-based techniques. In particular, owing to the addit…