A superfast detector installed on an electron microscope at Berkeley Lab’s Molecular Foundry will reveal atomic-scale details across a larger sample area than could be seen before, and produce movies showing chemistry in action and changes in materials.
New Molecular Blueprint Advances Our Understanding of Photosynthesis
Researchers at Berkeley Lab have used one of the most advanced microscopes in the world to reveal the structure of a large protein complex crucial to photosynthesis, the process by which plants convert sunlight into cellular energy. The finding, published in the journal Nature, will allow scientists to explore, for the first time, how the complex functions and could have implications for the production of a variety of bioproducts, including plastic alternatives and biofuels.
Berkeley Lab Contributes to New Research Offering First Complete Picture of Lithium-Ion Battery Performance
One issue plaguing today’s commercial battery materials is that they are only able to release about half of the lithium ions they contain. But for some reason, every new charge and discharge cycle slowly strips these lithium-rich cathodes of their voltage and capacity. A new study provides a comprehensive model of this process.
16 Elements: Berkeley Lab’s Contributions to the Periodic Table
Feature Story By Julie Chao & Glenn Roberts Jr. • January 28, 2019
Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory is credited with discovering more elements on the periodic table than any other institution. In celebration of its 150th anniversary, we look at how far it’s come and where it’s headed.
Berkeley Lab Pioneer in Synchrotron Techniques and Tools Receives DOE Secretary’s Award
Zahid Hussain, a longtime Berkeley Lab scientist, has received the DOE Secretary’s Distinguished Service Award in recognition of his contributions to synchrotron science.
Nanocrystals Get Better When They Double Up With MOFs
Researchers from Berkeley Lab’s Molecular Foundry have designed a dual-purpose material out of a self-assembling MOF (metal-organic framework)-nanocrystal hybrid that could one day be used to store carbon dioxide emissions and to manufacture renewable fuels.
Revealing Hidden Spin: Unlocking New Paths Toward High-Temperature Superconductors
Berkeley Lab researchers have discovered that electron spin is key to understanding how cuprate superconductors can conduct electricity without loss at high temperature.
Topological Matters: Toward a New Kind of Transistor
An experiment conducted at Berkeley Lab has demonstrated, for the first time, electronic switching in an exotic, ultrathin material that can carry a charge with nearly zero loss at room temperature. Researchers demonstrated this switching when subjecting the material to a low-current electric field.
How Berkeley Lab is Advancing Microelectronics
In collaboration with scientists at Intel Corp., Berkeley Lab scientist Ramamoorthy Ramesh proposes a new memory in logic device for replacing or augmenting conventional transistors.
Scientists Bring Polymers Into Atomic-Scale Focus
A Berkeley Lab-led research has adapted a powerful electron-based imaging technique to obtain a first-of-its-kind image of atomic-scale structure in a synthetic polymer. The research could ultimately inform polymer fabrication methods and lead to new designs for materials and devices that incorporate polymers.
