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

A scanning probe microscope (SPM) can detect two similar signals, which could lead to ambiguous identification of ferroelectric materials.

Ferroelectricity – Ambiguity Clarified, and Resolved

Novel technique accurately distinguishes rare material property linked to improving sensors and computers.

The matrix-free ionization platform consists of an array of silicon nanoposts.

One in a Million: Analyzing Metabolites in a Single Cell

Commercialized nanopost array platform reveals metabolic changes in individual cells due to environmental stress.

The image on the left shows the general shape of a cubic CeO2 nanoparticle.

One Nanocrystal, Many Faces: Connecting the Atomic Surface Structures of CeO₂ Nanocrystals to Catalysis

Imaging of cerium oxide nanocrystals provides new insights into the different behaviors of catalyst for emission control, other uses.

Illustration of the catalytic oxygen reduction reaction on the surface of platinum-nickel nanoframes with multilayered platinum skin structure

Multimetal Nanoframes Improve Catalyst Performance

Concentrating noble-metal catalyst atoms on the surface of porous nano-frame alloys shows over thirty-fold increase in performance.

Crystal structure of the parent compound of a calcium-strontium-based cuprate superconductor [(Ca/Sr)2CuO3]

Predicting Magnetic Behavior in Copper Oxide Superconductors

New theoretical techniques predict experimental observations in superconducting materials.

Control of the synthesis results in a diversity of self-assembled structures formed by sticky colloidal particles: array of “mushrooms” (left), wavy colloidal “fur”, dense fiber network, and three-dimensional reconstruction of the network (right).

Growing Nano “Hair” for Electrodes - From the Bottom Up

Electric fields control growth of “sticky” polymer particles.

Scanning electron micrograph of a new solid electrolyte material (lithium thiophosphate) showing its surface morphology and the nanoscale porosity which are responsible for its high ionic conductivity; Inset shows its crystal structure.

New Materials for High-Energy, Long-Life Rechargeable Batteries

Using sulfur-rich, highly ionic compounds as cathodes and electrolytes enables solid-state lithium-sulfur rechargeable batteries.

Spatially resolved activation energy map overlaid with sample topography

Catching Lithium Ions in Action in a Battery Electrode

New microscopy with nanometer-sized resolution may bring revolutionary new understanding to energy storage technologies.

Oxygen vacancy maps reveal that the overall composition and the degree of oxygen order varies drastically between films of the same cation composition but grown on different substrates.

Seeing the Voids in Fuel Cell Materials at the Atomic Scale

New microscopy method opens the door to understanding atomic-scale variations in chemistry and improved materials performance in solid oxide fuel cells.