An international team working at Berkeley Lab used a unique X-ray instrument to learn new things about lithium-rich battery materials that have been the subject of much study for their potential to extend the range of electric vehicles and the operation of electronic devices.
X-Ray Study Recasts Role of Battery Material from Cathode to Catalyst
The Spintronics Technology Revolution Could Be Just a Hopfion Away
A research team co-led by Berkeley Lab has created and observed quasiparticles called 3D hopfions at the nanoscale (billionths of a meter) in a magnetic system. The discovery could advance high-density, high-speed, low-power, yet ultrastable magnetic memory “spintronics” devices.
Designing Selective Membranes for Batteries Using a Drug Discovery Toolbox
A research team led by Berkeley Lab’s Molecular Foundry has developed a lithium-selective polymer membrane that could allow high-voltage battery cells to operate at higher power and more efficiently, important factors for both electric vehicles and aircraft.
Century-Old Problem Solved With First-Ever 3D Atomic Imaging of an Amorphous Solid
A research team led by UCLA, in collaboration with Berkeley Lab’s Molecular Foundry, a nanoscience user facility, has reported the first-ever determination of the 3D atomic structure of an amorphous solid – in this case, a material called metallic glass.
This Hydrogen Fuel Machine Could Be the Ultimate Guide to Self-Improvement
Scientists at Berkeley Lab have uncovered a surprising property that turns an artificial photosynthesis device into a self-improving hydrogen fuel machine.
X-Ray Experiments, Machine Learning Could Trim Years Off Battery R&D
An X-ray instrument at Berkeley Lab’s Advanced Light Source contributed to a battery study that used an innovative approach to machine learning to speed up the learning curve about a process that shortens the life of fast-charging lithium batteries.
To Speed Discovery, Infrared Microscopy Goes ‘Off the Grid’
Researchers from Caltech, UC Berkeley, and the Berkeley Synchrotron Infrared Structural Biology Imaging Program (BSISB) reported a more efficient way to collect “high-dimensional” infrared images – where each pixel contains rich physical and chemical information. The microscopy experiments were carried out at Berkeley Lab’s Advanced Light Source.
Actor in a Supporting Role: Substrate Effects on 2D Layers
Researchers from the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign used Berkeley Lab’s Advanced Light Source to probe changes in the electronic properties of a 2D semiconductor, titanium telluride, as the thickness of a substrate, platinum telluride, was increased.
This Ultrathin Sensor Could Save Your Lungs – and the Climate
Scientists at Berkeley Lab and UC Berkeley have developed an atomically thin device that could turn your smartphone into a supersmart gas sensor.
VIDEO: Revealing the Nano Big Bang – Scientists Observe the First Milliseconds of Crystal Formation
At the Molecular Foundry, scientists recruited a world-leading microscope to capture atomic-resolution, high-speed images of gold atoms self-organizing, falling apart, and then reorganizing many times before settling into a stable, ordered crystal.