![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. 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.](/sites/default/files/styles/list_page_thumbnail/public/GNR-2.jpg?itok=UpcA2sYT)
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![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. 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.](/sites/default/files/styles/list_page_thumbnail/public/GNR-2.jpg?itok=UpcA2sYT)
![ORNL’s Yang Song, seated, Dale Hensley, standing left, and Adam Rondinone examine a carbon nanospike sample with a scanning electron microscope. (ORNL photo by Genevieve Martin) ORNL’s Yang Song, seated, Dale Hensley, standing left, and Adam Rondinone examine a carbon nanospike sample with a scanning electron microscope. (ORNL photo by Genevieve Martin)](/sites/default/files/styles/list_page_thumbnail/public/blog/images/2016-P05216.jpg?itok=3f0wAmpY)
In a new twist to waste-to-fuel technology, ORNL scientists have developed an electrochemical process that uses tiny spikes of carbon and copper to turn carbon dioxide, a greenhouse gas, into ethanol.
![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 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](/sites/default/files/styles/list_page_thumbnail/public/Sang_2016-P07680_0.jpg?itok=w0e5eR_U)
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 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](/sites/default/files/styles/list_page_thumbnail/public/news/images/No_labels_jpg_1_0.jpg?itok=zO_JZyGy)
![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 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](/sites/default/files/styles/list_page_thumbnail/public/new_nanodiamond_0001.png?itok=xf_EGVvD)
![ORNL’s Yang Song, seated, Dale Hensley, standing left, and Adam Rondinone examine a carbon nanospike sample with a scanning electron microscope. (ORNL photo by Genevieve Martin) ORNL’s Yang Song, seated, Dale Hensley, standing left, and Adam Rondinone examine a carbon nanospike sample with a scanning electron microscope. (ORNL photo by Genevieve Martin)](/sites/default/files/styles/list_page_thumbnail/public/2016-P05216.jpg?itok=gPJ6UD8Z)
In a new twist to waste-to-fuel technology, ORNL scientists have developed an electrochemical process that uses tiny spikes of carbon and copper to turn carbon dioxide, a greenhouse gas, into ethanol.
![Sergei Kalinin Sergei Kalinin](/sites/default/files/styles/list_page_thumbnail/public/Kalinin200_1.jpg?itok=mc9raRMM)
![Kai Xiao Kai Xiao](/sites/default/files/styles/list_page_thumbnail/public/news/images/Kai%20Xiao%20researcher%20profile.jpg?itok=Zc6Q4U3_)
![Neon atoms between graphene sheets poke the top sheet from below and stretch the crystalline lattice, forming a bubble at a pressure larger than that of the ocean at its greatest depth. Neon atoms between graphene sheets poke the top sheet from below and stretch the crystalline lattice, forming a bubble at a pressure larger than that of the ocean at its greatest depth.](/sites/default/files/styles/list_page_thumbnail/public/news/images/04%20materials%20measuring%20tip%201.jpg?itok=nEjhlZBB)
Researchers at Oak Ridge National Laboratory found a simpler way to measure adhesion between graphene sheets, compared to a sophisticated method used in a 2015 study: They measured how much graphene deflects when neon atoms poke it from below to create
![Advanced materials take flight in the LEAP engine, featuring ceramic matrix composites developed over a quarter-century by GE with help from DOE and ORNL. Image credit: General Electric Advanced materials take flight in the LEAP engine, featuring ceramic matrix composites developed over a quarter-century by GE with help from DOE and ORNL. Image credit: General Electric](/sites/default/files/styles/list_page_thumbnail/public/GE1main_0.jpg?itok=sqLo7TAa)
Ceramic matrix composite (CMC) materials are made of coated ceramic fibers surrounded by a ceramic matrix. They are tough, lightweight and capable of withstanding temperatures 300–400 degrees F hotter than metal alloys can endure.