![Researchers used electron microscopy aberrations to create a new method for spectroscopy with atomic-level resolution. Researchers used electron microscopy aberrations to create a new method for spectroscopy with atomic-level resolution.](/sites/default/files/styles/list_page_thumbnail/public/02%20nanoscience%20tip.jpg?itok=st4odjYx)
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![Researchers used electron microscopy aberrations to create a new method for spectroscopy with atomic-level resolution. Researchers used electron microscopy aberrations to create a new method for spectroscopy with atomic-level resolution.](/sites/default/files/styles/list_page_thumbnail/public/02%20nanoscience%20tip.jpg?itok=st4odjYx)
![ORNL’s tough new plastic is made with 50 percent renewable content from biomass. Image credit: Oak Ridge National Laboratory, U.S. Dept. of Energy; conceptual art by Mark Robbins ORNL’s tough new plastic is made with 50 percent renewable content from biomass. Image credit: Oak Ridge National Laboratory, U.S. Dept. of Energy; conceptual art by Mark Robbins](/sites/default/files/styles/list_page_thumbnail/public/news/images/16-G00184_VerB.jpg?itok=YJlqzCc1)
Your car’s bumper is probably made of a moldable thermoplastic polymer called ABS, shorthand for its acrylonitrile, butadiene and styrene components.
![Default image of ORNL entry sign](/sites/default/files/styles/list_page_thumbnail/public/2023-09/default-thumbnail.jpg?h=553c93cc&itok=N_Kd1DVR)
When lots of energy hits an atom, it can knock off electrons, making the atom extremely chemically reactive and initiating further destruction. That’s why radiation is so dangerous.
![polarization image polarization image](/sites/default/files/styles/list_page_thumbnail/public/polarization_image.jpg?itok=ad3gyhwj)
Two-dimensional electronic devices could inch closer to their ultimate promise of low power, high efficiency and mechanical flexibility with a processing technique developed at the Department of Energy’s Oak Ridge National Laboratory.
![When a negative bias is applied to a two-dimensional MXene electrode, Li+ ions from the electrolyte migrate in the material via specific channels to the reaction sites, where the electron transfer occurs. When a negative bias is applied to a two-dimensional MXene electrode, Li+ ions from the electrolyte migrate in the material via specific channels to the reaction sites, where the electron transfer occurs.](/sites/default/files/styles/list_page_thumbnail/public/news/images/JCome_MXene.jpg?itok=Sy9BDx65)
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
![default image](/themes/custom/ornl/images/default-thumbnail.jpg)
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.
![Mutual rotation of two monolayers of a semiconducting material creates a variety of bilayer stacking patterns, depending on the twist angle. Fast and efficient characterization of these stacking patterns may aid exploration of potential applications Mutual rotation of two monolayers of a semiconducting material creates a variety of bilayer stacking patterns, depending on the twist angle. Fast and efficient characterization of these stacking patterns may aid exploration of potential applications](/sites/default/files/styles/list_page_thumbnail/public/news/images/16-G00183_no_bkgrnd_.png?itok=lKUrpWJ_)
Stacking layers of nanometer-thin semiconducting materials at different angles is a new approach to designing the next generation of energy-efficient transistors and solar cells. The atoms in each layer are arranged in hexagonal arrays.
![Researchers developed a framework to learn physical and chemical phenomena defining nanocrystal growth from scanning transmission electron microscopy. Researchers developed a framework to learn physical and chemical phenomena defining nanocrystal growth from scanning transmission electron microscopy.](/sites/default/files/styles/list_page_thumbnail/public/news/images/levy%20tip.jpg?itok=0nmw1Ue8)
To tailor tiny nanocrystals for catalysts, semiconductors and other applications, scientists must predict what happens inside the particle, at the boundary and in the solvent during particle growth.
![Cantilever schematic: Schematic representation of the atomic force microscope interacting with the material surface. (Credit: Rama Vasudevan, ORNL) Cantilever schematic: Schematic representation of the atomic force microscope interacting with the material surface. (Credit: Rama Vasudevan, ORNL)](/sites/default/files/styles/list_page_thumbnail/public/news/images/cantilever-schematic%5B1%5D_0.jpg?itok=kM_EpMlx)
Understanding where and how phase transitions occur is critical to developing new generations of the materials used in high-performance batteries, sensors, energy-harvesting devices, medical diagnostic equipment and other applications.