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![A simulation shows the path for the collision of a krypton ion (blue) with a defected graphene sheet and subsequent formation of a carbon vacancy (red). Red shades indicate local strain in the graphene. Image credit: Kichul Yoon, Penn State A simulation shows the path for the collision of a krypton ion (blue) with a defected graphene sheet and subsequent formation of a carbon vacancy (red). Red shades indicate local strain in the graphene. Image credit: Kichul Yoon, Penn State](/sites/default/files/styles/list_page_thumbnail/public/news/images/graphene_defect1.jpg?itok=2KdyjJb0)
![A 32-face 3-D truncated icosahedron mesh was created to test the simulation’s ability to precisely construct complex geometries. A 32-face 3-D truncated icosahedron mesh was created to test the simulation’s ability to precisely construct complex geometries.](/sites/default/files/styles/list_page_thumbnail/public/nn-2016-021085_0009_0.jpeg?itok=ZRBSAZox)
![In conventional, low-temperature superconductivity (left), so-called Cooper pairing arises from the presence of an electron Fermi sea. In the pseudogap regime of the cuprate superconductors (right), parts of the Fermi sea are “dried out” and the charge-ca In conventional, low-temperature superconductivity (left), so-called Cooper pairing arises from the presence of an electron Fermi sea. In the pseudogap regime of the cuprate superconductors (right), parts of the Fermi sea are “dried out” and the charge-ca](/sites/default/files/styles/list_page_thumbnail/public/maier_image.png?itok=aGk3XL3v)
![Department of Energy national lab researchers found strain dramatically influences low-temperature oxygen electrocatalysis on perovskite oxides, enhancing bifunctional activity essential for fuel cells and metal–air batteries. Department of Energy national lab researchers found strain dramatically influences low-temperature oxygen electrocatalysis on perovskite oxides, enhancing bifunctional activity essential for fuel cells and metal–air batteries.](/sites/default/files/styles/list_page_thumbnail/public/news/images/bifunctional%20catalysis-Lee.jpg?itok=U0L_rWaH)
Catalysts make chemical reactions more likely to occur. In most cases, a catalyst that’s good at driving chemical reactions in one direction is bad at driving reactions in the opposite direction. However, a research team led by the Department of Energy’s Oak Ridge National Laboratory ...
![In unbound calyx[4]pyrrole, two pyrrole “petals” are flipped up and two, down. In unbound calyx[4]pyrrole, two pyrrole “petals” are flipped up and two, down.](/sites/default/files/styles/list_page_thumbnail/public/news/images/anion_hr5_0.jpg?itok=sGtLzH0E)
Atomic charges in chemical solutions are like Switzerland—they strive for neutrality. The tendency to balance charges drives dynamics when charged atoms or molecules, called ions, are present in solutions. Recently, researchers at the Department of Energy’s Oak Ridge National Laborat...
![Oak Ridge National Laboratory researchers made a molecule that could selectively bind to metals in the middle of the lanthanide series. Oak Ridge National Laboratory researchers made a molecule that could selectively bind to metals in the middle of the lanthanide series.](/sites/default/files/styles/list_page_thumbnail/public/news/images/2007-P05930.jpg?itok=3VmmI1ab)
Rare earth elements are metals used in technologies from wind turbines and magnetic resonance imaging agents to industrial catalysts and high-definition televisions. Most are lanthanides, elements with atomic number from 57 to 71, lanthanum to lutetium, in the periodic table. The la...
Nearly 100 commercial nuclear reactors supply one-fifth of America’s energy. For each fuel rod in a reactor assembly, only 5 percent of its energy is consumed before fission can no longer be sustained efficiently for power production and the fuel assembly must be replaced. Power plan...
![ORNL’s Jim Keiser and Mike Stephens (on stepladder) prepare to install samples in a Keiser rig, a furnace for exposing materials to corrosive gases, crushing pressures and calamitous heat. Image credit: Oak Ridge National Laboratory, U.S. Dept. of Energy; ORNL’s Jim Keiser and Mike Stephens (on stepladder) prepare to install samples in a Keiser rig, a furnace for exposing materials to corrosive gases, crushing pressures and calamitous heat. Image credit: Oak Ridge National Laboratory, U.S. Dept. of Energy;](/sites/default/files/styles/list_page_thumbnail/public/news/images/2016-P00365_Keiser.jpg?itok=yHaid516)
![Oak Ridge National Laboratory’s Joe Giaquinto investigates chemical clues for trace-level radioactivity. Giaquinto leads ORNL’s Nuclear Analytical Chemistry and Isotopics Laboratory, which makes critical contributions to nuclear forensics and nonprolifera Oak Ridge National Laboratory’s Joe Giaquinto investigates chemical clues for trace-level radioactivity. Giaquinto leads ORNL’s Nuclear Analytical Chemistry and Isotopics Laboratory, which makes critical contributions to nuclear forensics and nonprolifera](/sites/default/files/styles/list_page_thumbnail/public/news/images/NACIL_image%202_giaquinto.jpg?itok=fF_SmOVA)
A group of nuclear detectives at the Department of Energy’s Oak Ridge National Laboratory takes on tough challenges, from detecting illicit uranium using isotopic “fingerprints” to investigating Presidential assassination conspiracies.
![In a Fluid Interface Reactions, Structures and Transport Center project to probe a battery’s atomic activity during its first charging cycle, Robert Sacci and colleagues used the Spallation Neutron Source’s vibrational spectrometer to gain chemical inform In a Fluid Interface Reactions, Structures and Transport Center project to probe a battery’s atomic activity during its first charging cycle, Robert Sacci and colleagues used the Spallation Neutron Source’s vibrational spectrometer to gain chemical inform](/sites/default/files/styles/list_page_thumbnail/public/news/images/MVC_0640.jpg?itok=_Wr2EOLb)
Rechargeable batteries power everything from electric vehicles to wearable gadgets, but obstacles limit the creation of sleeker, longer-lasting and more efficient power sources. Batteries produce electricity when charged atoms, known as ions, move in a circuit from a positive end ...