University Research | U.S. DOE Office of Science (SC)

Novel Methods of Synthesizing Quantum Dot Materials

MIT researchers are optimizing nanostructures for energy devices such as solar cells.

Scientists Get Better Numbers on What Happens When Electrons Get Wet

A new study from researchers at the University of Chicago, Argonne and Lawrence Livermore National Laboratories, and the University of California-San Diego paints a more accurate picture of how electrons behave after striking water, and how quickly they’re snatched up in chemical reactions.

UA Researchers Observe Electrons Zipping Around in Crystals

For the first time, scientists have tracked electrons moving through exotic materials that may make up the next generation of computing hardware, revealing intriguing properties not found in conventional, silicon-based semiconductors.

Chemists Follow Molecules Down ‘Nanowells,’ Track Catalytic Reactions in Nanoconfinement

Chemists at Iowa State University and Georgia State University have measured the effects of nanoconfinement in catalysis by tracking single molecules as they dive down “nanowells” and react with catalysts at the bottom.

Do You Know Where Your Xenon Is? Maybe It’s Hanging Out with Iron and Nickel in the Earth’s Core

The paradox of the missing xenon might sound like the title of the latest airport thriller, but it’s actually a problem that’s stumped geophysicists for decades. New work from an international team including Carnegie’s Alexander Goncharov and Hanyu Liu, and Carnegie alumni Elissaios Stavrou and Sergey Lobanov, is chasing down the solution to this longstanding puzzle.

The Fine-Tuning of Two-Dimensional Materials

A new understanding of why synthetic 2-D materials often perform orders of magnitude worse than predicted was reached by teams of researchers led by Penn State.

Engineered Metasurfaces Replace Adhesive Tape in Specialized Microscope

A collaboration between two labs at Caltech yields a high-tech substitute that could unlock the potential of imaging devices that counterintuitively scatter light to obtain high-resolution, high-field-of-vision views.

Global Fisheries to be, on Average, 20 Percent Less Productive in 2300, UCI Study Finds

University of California, Irvine climatologists expect the world’s fisheries to be, on average, 20 percent less productive in the year 2300, with those in the North Atlantic down nearly 60 percent and those in much of the western Pacific experiencing declines of more than 50 percent.

ASU Researchers Find New Solution for Mitigating Dendrite Growth, Which Shows Promise for All Batteries

New research from Arizona State University finds that using a 3-D layer of polydimethylsiloxane (PDMS), or silicone, as the substrate of the lithium metal anode can mitigate dendrite formation and both dramatically extend battery life and diminish safety risks.

U CO2 Sensor Network Shows Effects of Metro Growth

A team led by University of Utah atmospheric scientists Logan Mitchell and John Lin report that suburban sprawl increases CO2 emissions more than similar population growth in a developed urban core.

UW Researchers Lead Study that Discovers South African Wildfires Create Climate Cooling

University of Wyoming researchers led a study that discovered that biomass smoke originating from South Africa that drifts over the southeast Atlantic Ocean significantly enhances the brightness of low-level clouds there -- creating a reflective process that actually helps cool the Earth and counteract the greenhouse effect.

How Detecting Light in the Water Affects How Much Food Cyanobacteria Get

Scientists at Michigan State University have linked how water-dwelling bacteria monitor light wavelengths in their surroundings with their capacity to do photosynthesis. The research has medical/biofuels implications.