2017 | U.S. DOE Office of Science (SC)

'Magic' Alloy Could Spur Next Generation of Solar Cells

In what could be a major step forward for a new generation of solar cells called "concentrator photovoltaics," University of Michigan researchers have developed a new semiconductor alloy that can capture the near-infrared light located on the leading edge of the visible light spectrum.

New Grants Bolster CSU Expertise in Wildfire Smoke Impacts

Colorado State University researchers who have led ground-breaking inquiries into understanding smoke from fires have been awarded a grant from the Department of Energy Office of Science Atmospheric Science Research Program to study organic aerosols, with a focus on how the particles interact with clouds and climate.

Researchers Show Thermally Activated Delayed Photoluminescence from Semiconductor Nanocrystals

Researchers from North Carolina State University have found that the transfer of triplet excitons from nanomaterials to molecules also creates a feedback mechanism that returns some energy to the nanocrystal, causing it to photoluminesce on long time scales.

Stripes May Help Solve Riddle of Superconductivity

Caltech's Garnet Chan, Bren Professor of Chemistry, and his colleagues have shown that high-temperature superconducting materials order themselves into a striped pattern of charges—what Chan and colleagues call "rivers of charge"—just before they become superconducting.

New Catalyst Meets Challenge of Cleaning Exhaust from Modern Engines

Researchers at Washington State University, Pacific Northwest National Laboratory and the University of New Mexico have created a catalyst capable of reducing pollutants at the lower temperatures expected in advanced engines.

Hafnia Dons a New Face: Materials Research Creates Potential for Improved Computer Chips and Transistors

A collaborative University of Kentucky-Texas A&M University team has found a way to achieve this highly sought tetragonal phase at 1100 degrees Fahrenheit — think much closer to room temperature and potential holy grail for the computing industry, along with countless other sectors and applications.

Scientists Discover Process for Transitioning Two-Layer Graphene into a Diamond-Hard Material on Impact

Scientists at the Advanced Science Research Center (ASRC) at the Graduate Center, CUNY, worked to theorize and test how two layers of graphene — each one-atom thick — could be made to transform into a diamond-like material upon impact at room temperature.

Scientists Discover New Method to Harness Energy

A Washington State University professor is part of a team that has unraveled the mechanism of a process that couples chemical reactions in a unique way that conserves energy and prevents loss.

Researchers Find New Way to Control Light with Electric Fields

Researchers from North Carolina State University have developed a technique that allows them to change the refractive index for visible light in some semiconductor materials by 60 percent – two orders of magnitude better than previous results.

Decomposing Leaves are a Surprising Source of Greenhouse Gases

Michigan State University scientists have pinpointed a new source of nitrous oxide, a greenhouse gas that’s more potent than carbon dioxide, which could help refine nitrous oxide emission predictions as well as guide future agriculture and soil management practices.

Physicists Create 'Molecular Black Hole' Using Ultra-Intense X-ray Pulses

Kansas State University physicists capture how an iodine atom irradiated by an extremely intense X-ray beam loses dozens of electrons and, for a short time, turns into a "molecular black hole" that pulls in charge from its surroundings.

Engineers Create Plants that Glow

MIT Researchers have engineered a plant that can glow in the dark by embedding nanoparticles into the plant's leaves.