2016 | U.S. DOE Office of Science (SC)

For Platinum Catalysts, a Tiny Squeeze Gives a Big Boost in Performance, Stanford Study Finds

A nanosize squeeze can significantly boost the performance of platinum catalysts that help generate energy in fuel cells, according to a new study by Stanford scientists.

Bacterial Mechanism Converts Nitrogen to Greenhouse Gas

Cornell researchers have discovered a biological mechanism that helps convert nitrogen-based fertilizer into nitrous oxide, an ozone-depleting greenhouse gas.

Discovering What Keeps Cellular Cargo on Track

Michigan State University researchers, for the first time, have identified how plants’ largest cell factory moves to maintain vital functions, which could lead to advances in improving plant cells’ critical functions and growing better crops.

New Findings Boost Promise of Molybdenum Sulfide for Hydrogen Catalysis

Researchers from North Carolina State University, Duke University and Brookhaven National Laboratory have found that molybdenum sulfide (MoS2) holds more promise than previously thought as a catalyst for producing hydrogen to use as a clean energy source.

Physicists Create Artificial 'Graphene'

An international group of physicists led by the University of Arkansas has created an artificial material with a structure comparable to graphene.

Better Water Splitting Advances Renewable Energy Conversion

Washington State University researchers have found a way to more efficiently create hydrogen from water – an important key in making renewable energy production and storage viable.

Atom-by-Atom Growth Chart For Shells Helps Decode Past Climate

Researchers from the University of California, Davis and the University of Washington, with key support from the U.S. Department of Energy’s Pacific Northwest National Laboratory can for the first time, see how the shells of tiny marine organisms grow atom-by-atom.

Researchers Develop Completely New Kind of Polymer

Northwestern University researchers have developed a new hybrid polymer with removable supramolecular compartments that might one day be used in artificial muscles or other life-like materials; for delivery of drugs, biomolecules or other chemicals; in materials with self-repair capability; and for replaceable energy sources.

You’ll Never Be-Leaf What Makes Up This Battery

Scientists at the University of Maryland have used a carbonized oak leaf as an anode, creating a battery that uses sodium instead of the lithium used by most rechargeable batteries.

Molecular-Like Photochemistry From Semiconductor Nanocrystals

Researchers from North Carolina State University have demonstrated the transfer of triplet exciton energy from semiconductor nanocrystals to surface-bound molecular acceptors, extending the lifetime of the originally prepared excited state by six orders of magnitude.

For This Nanocatalyst, One Atom Makes a Big Difference

Combining experimental investigations and theoretical simulations, researchers at Georgia Tech have explained why platinum nanoclusters of a specific size range facilitate the hydrogenation reaction used to produce ethane from ethylene.

In Galaxy Clustering, Mass May Not Be the Only Thing That Matters

An international team of researchers, including Carnegie Mellon University’s Rachel Mandelbaum, has shown that the relationship between galaxy clusters and their surrounding dark matter halo is more complex than previously thought.