Filter News
Area of Research
- (-) Materials (26)
- Advanced Manufacturing (2)
- Biology and Environment (26)
- Building Technologies (1)
- Clean Energy (64)
- Climate and Environmental Systems (1)
- Computational Biology (1)
- Computational Engineering (2)
- Computer Science (12)
- Fusion and Fission (16)
- Fusion Energy (11)
- Isotopes (3)
- Materials for Computing (9)
- Mathematics (1)
- National Security (18)
- Neutron Science (13)
- Nuclear Science and Technology (11)
- Quantum information Science (7)
- Supercomputing (72)
- Transportation Systems (2)
News Type
News Topics
- (-) Computer Science (9)
- (-) Fusion (4)
- (-) Machine Learning (2)
- (-) Quantum Science (1)
- (-) Space Exploration (2)
- (-) Transportation (10)
- 3-D Printing/Advanced Manufacturing (10)
- Advanced Reactors (2)
- Artificial Intelligence (4)
- Big Data (2)
- Bioenergy (3)
- Biomedical (4)
- Buildings (2)
- Chemical Sciences (11)
- Clean Water (3)
- Composites (6)
- Coronavirus (2)
- Critical Materials (5)
- Cybersecurity (1)
- Decarbonization (2)
- Energy Storage (13)
- Environment (7)
- Exascale Computing (1)
- Grid (2)
- High-Performance Computing (1)
- Isotopes (8)
- Materials (31)
- Materials Science (36)
- Mathematics (1)
- Microscopy (12)
- Molten Salt (1)
- Nanotechnology (16)
- Neutron Science (13)
- Nuclear Energy (12)
- Partnerships (3)
- Physics (13)
- Polymers (10)
- Quantum Computing (2)
- Security (1)
- Summit (1)
- Sustainable Energy (5)
- Transformational Challenge Reactor (2)
Media Contacts
![Batteries—Polymers that bind](/sites/default/files/styles/list_page_thumbnail/public/2019-06/Batteries-Polymers_that_bind_0.png?h=dec22bcf&itok=oJ7mroY1)
A team of researchers at Oak Ridge National Laboratory have demonstrated that designed synthetic polymers can serve as a high-performance binding material for next-generation lithium-ion batteries.
![The illustrations show how the correlation between lattice distortion and proton binding energy in a material affects proton conduction in different environments. Mitigating this interaction could help researchers improve the ionic conductivity of solid materials.](/sites/default/files/styles/list_page_thumbnail/public/2019-05/Figure_Rosenthal_5-1-19_0.png?h=73c01546&itok=-tjVhDfm)
Ionic conduction involves the movement of ions from one location to another inside a material. The ions travel through point defects, which are irregularities in the otherwise consistent arrangement of atoms known as the crystal lattice. This sometimes sluggish process can limit the performance and efficiency of fuel cells, batteries, and other energy storage technologies.
![An ORNL-developed graphite foam, which could be used in plasma-facing components in fusion reactors, performed well during testing at the Wendlestein 7-X stellarator in Germany.](/sites/default/files/styles/list_page_thumbnail/public/2019-02/W7-XPlasmaExposure_0.jpg?h=d5d04e3b&itok=uKiauhdF)
Scientists have tested a novel heat-shielding graphite foam, originally created at Oak Ridge National Laboratory, at Germany’s Wendelstein 7-X stellarator with promising results for use in plasma-facing components of fusion reactors.
![Picture2.png Picture2.png](/sites/default/files/styles/list_page_thumbnail/public/Picture2_1.png?itok=IV4n9XEh)
Oak Ridge National Laboratory scientists studying fuel cells as a potential alternative to internal combustion engines used sophisticated electron microscopy to investigate the benefits of replacing high-cost platinum with a lower cost, carbon-nitrogen-manganese-based catalyst.
![From left, Amit Naskar, Ngoc Nguyen and Christopher Bowland in ORNL’s Carbon and Composites Group bring a new capability—structural health monitoring—to strong, lightweight materials promising for transportation applications. From left, Amit Naskar, Ngoc Nguyen and Christopher Bowland in ORNL’s Carbon and Composites Group bring a new capability—structural health monitoring—to strong, lightweight materials promising for transportation applications.](/sites/default/files/styles/list_page_thumbnail/public/IMAGE1_%202018-P06604_0.jpg?itok=9-iSLuHf)
Carbon fiber composites—lightweight and strong—are great structural materials for automobiles, aircraft and other transportation vehicles. They consist of a polymer matrix, such as epoxy, into which reinforcing carbon fibers have been embedded. Because of differences in the mecha...
![Illustration of satellite in front of glowing orange celestial body](/sites/default/files/styles/list_page_thumbnail/public/NASA_Parker_Solar_Probe_rendering.jpg?h=90c266c4&itok=KqHQKRNt)
A shield assembly that protects an instrument measuring ion and electron fluxes for a NASA mission to touch the Sun was tested in extreme experimental environments at Oak Ridge National Laboratory—and passed with flying colors. Components aboard Parker Solar Probe, which will endure th...