![pnnl-calendar-010515-headliner.jpg It’s the candy dish problem, but rather than picking the desired flavors, scientists must pick impurities from complex mixes.](/-/media/_/images/banner-images/2016/blog-molecules-092216-thumb.jpg?h=75&w=135&la=en&hash=945E278A90288FF4CBAB268AF662D2622FE8A5C779A448C5EB3420CE7BCFAFAE)
Take the Best, Leave the Rest
Fundamental researchers offer new ways to sort molecules for clean energy and more.
Read more about Take the Best, Leave the Rest![pnnl-calendar-010515-headliner.jpg These atom-scale computer simulations of tetrapods show how they sense compression (left) and tension along one axis (right), both of which are crucial to detecting nanoscale crack formation.](/-/media/_/images/banner-images/2016/lbnl-nanoscale-tetrapods-092016-thumb.jpg?h=75&w=135&la=en&hash=15BBA8A80C90E99D71B3051737B707776EF6D77B526E183391549AD3C1C9EFCF)
Nanoscale Tetrapods Could Provide Early Warning of a Material’s Failure
Berkeley Lab scientists are developing a new way to detect microscopic fractures in materials in the field.
Read more about Nanoscale Tetrapods Could Provide Early Warning of a Material’s Failure![pnnl-calendar-010515-headliner.jpg Former Argonne postdoctoral researcher Diana Berman and Argonne nanoscientist Anirudha Sumant.](/-/media/_/images/banner-images/2016/anl-growing-graphene-091916-thumb.jpg?h=75&w=135&la=en&hash=D823EF9680537A5506F5F45660BB92CF0CB928D2A5C2D77CBD1CAFD014BED980)
Diamond Proves Useful Material for Growing Graphene
Former Argonne postdoctoral researcher Diana Berman and Argonne nanoscientist Anirudha Sumant, along with several collaborators, developed a new and inexpensive way to grow pure graphene using a diamond substrate.
Read more about Diamond Proves Useful Material for Growing Graphene![pnnl-calendar-010515-headliner.jpg A new study from Argonne National Laboratory has shown water can serve a previously undiscovered role to help micelles coalesce to spontaneously form long fibers.](/-/media/_/images/banner-images/2016/anl-biofibers-sunlight-091416-thumb.jpg?h=75&w=135&la=en&hash=F1EB1284F3D2D107B1F44982ADAD24CF9D4BB1035608674908BC045CD3E1648E)
Water Helps Assembly of Biofibers that Could Capture Sunlight
In a study led by researchers at Argonne’s Center for Nanoscale Materials, supercomputer simulations and lab-based experiments showed that water serves as an invisible cage for the growth of long fibers from micelles made of chains of amino acids.
Read more about Water Helps Assembly of Biofibers that Could Capture Sunlight![pnnl-calendar-010515-headliner.jpg Stony Brook University graduate student Qiyuan Wu and Brookhaven Lab Center for Functional Nanomaterials (CFN) staff scientist Dmitri Zakharov studying samples at the Titan Environmental Transmission Electron Microscope at the CFN.](/-/media/_/images/banner-images/2016/bnl-catalyst-production-090716-thumb.jpg?h=75&w=135&la=en&hash=B3CFB18F24701A4072C2F6D3FFA8E76A77312BD4D7B3EE8D8CA2746FE60FEB41)
Collaboration Strikes Gold Pioneering a New Method for Catalyst Production
Jet stream of liquid helium blows gold vapor through a barren, cold landscape to deposit pristine, stable gold nanoparticles.
Read more about Collaboration Strikes Gold Pioneering a New Method for Catalyst Production![pnnl-calendar-010515-headliner.jpg Visualization of the 3-D distributions of elements in a fluid catalytic cracking particle; each color represents a different element.](/-/media/_/images/banner-images/2016/slac-3d-catalyst-083116-thumb.jpg?h=75&w=135&la=en&hash=93E46EE20D8F52EC6328FD752E93210E11943329F83F2C41F35EE7F5ABC30AD8)
A Virtual Flight Through a Catalyst Particle Finds Evidence of Poisoning
At SLAC Synchrotron, two X-ray techniques give a 3-D view of why catalysts used in gasoline production go bad.
Read more about A Virtual Flight Through a Catalyst Particle Finds Evidence of Poisoning![pnnl-calendar-010515-headliner.jpg This rendering shows opposite configurations in the molecular structure of a plant hormone called jasmonic acid (gray and red) that are bound to nanostructures (gold and blue) called MOFs, or metal-organic frameworks.](/-/media/_/images/banner-images/2016/lbnl-3d-molecules-081916-thumb.jpg?h=75&w=135&la=en&hash=921277DFCA5F29DED589805A981A0E8C50FCB20800750FE9EDC353874A3DE3FA)
A New Way to Display the 3-D Structure of Molecules
Metal-organic frameworks provide a new platform for solving the structure of hard-to-study samples.
Read more about A New Way to Display the 3-D Structure of Molecules![pnnl-calendar-010515-headliner.jpg One of the genomes sequenced for this study was of the yeast Scheffersomyces stipitis.](/-/media/_/images/banner-images/2016/jgi-yeasts-081616-thumb.jpg?h=75&w=135&la=en&hash=B0612C0250E3578D5963FECEBBAE11B0AECB16FF12DDD0329031A0B5846F5684)
Expanding the Stable of Workhorse Yeasts
New genome sequences target next generation of yeasts with improved biotech uses.
Read more about Expanding the Stable of Workhorse Yeasts![pnnl-calendar-010515-headliner.jpg Diagram which shows light falling on the walls triggers formation of hydrogen peroxide (H2O2) and other “reactive oxygen species” that kill bacteria.](/-/media/_/images/banner-images/2016/slac-disinfect-water-081516-thumb.jpg?h=75&w=135&la=en&hash=920CDC59084D7F4D4612F6E4CED5E9D0141C64620B94E5263C1E65003A7D65FE)
SLAC, Stanford Gadget Grabs More Solar Energy to Disinfect Water Faster
Plopped into water, a tiny device triggers the formation of chemicals that kill microbes in minutes.
Read more about SLAC, Stanford Gadget Grabs More Solar Energy to Disinfect Water Faster![pnnl-calendar-010515-headliner.jpg The chemical phase within the battery evolves as the charging time increases. The cut-away views reveal a change from anisotropic to isotropic phase boundary motion.](/-/media/_/images/banner-images/2016/bnl-xray-imaging-081216-thumb.jpg?h=75&w=135&la=en&hash=C7F05F4E770BAC5D25576451A8BB5FABB1B0BD7A24D6549BC0E93D8E06798FDF)
Slicing Through Materials with a New X-ray Imaging Technique
Images reveal battery materials' chemical reactions in five dimensions – 3D space plus time and energy.
Read more about Slicing Through Materials with a New X-ray Imaging Technique![pnnl-calendar-010515-headliner.jpg CFN researchers Gwen Wright and Aaron Stein at the electron beam lithography writer in the CFN cleanroom.](/-/media/_/images/banner-images/2016/bnl-nanotechnology-080816-thumb.jpg?h=75&w=135&la=en&hash=2FAFD485E01DBE807761D5384CE9B5B58C7E463D824C143B41DF7C8C92749753)
Smarter Self-Assembly Opens New Pathways for Nanotechnology
Brookhaven Lab scientists discover a way to create billionth-of-a-meter structures that snap together in complex patterns with unprecedented efficiency.
Read more about Smarter Self-Assembly Opens New Pathways for Nanotechnology![pnnl-calendar-010515-headliner.jpg SLAC engineer Corey Hardin inspects one of the newly-arrived mirrors in a clean room facility.](/-/media/_/images/banner-images/2016/slac-mirrors-080216-thumb.jpg?h=75&w=135&la=en&hash=4A33DBBE6C12D2D83E2E0904C38249FEC3094E583BD16DE4129781BEAA8B22BF)
Perfection in Sight: SLAC Receives New Mirrors for X-ray Laser
SLAC is improving the quality of its X-ray laser beam with new meter-long mirrors, made from an individual silicon crystal artificially grown in a lab and polished to perfection.
Read more about Perfection in Sight: SLAC Receives New Mirrors for X-ray Laser