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

Snakes on a plane: This atomic-resolution simulation of a peptoid nanosheet reveals a snake-like structure never seen before. The nanosheet’s layers include a water-repelling core (yellow), peptoid backbones (white), and charged sidechains (magenta and cyan). The right corner of the nanosheet’s top layer has been “removed” to show how the backbone’s alternating rotational states give the backbones a snake-like appearance (red and blue ribbons). Surrounding water molecules are red and white.

Understanding and Predicting Self-Assembly

Newly discovered “design rule” brings nature-inspired nanostructures one step closer.

The discovery that electrically conductive, hair-like filaments on the surface of Geobacter bacteria could mark a new paradigm for the employment of biological materials in nanoscale electron devices.

Bacteria Hairs Make Excellent Electrical Wires

This discovery could lead to low-cost, non-toxic, biological components for light-weight electronics.

A vector map of the measured deflections of an atomic-sized electron beam scanned across different polar domains in the ferroelectric bismuth ferrite. The image was recorded in about a minute by the new electron microscope pixel array detector.

New High-Capability Solid-State Electron Microscope Detector Enables Novel Studies of Materials

Device allows fast, precise measurements of electric and magnetic fields at the atomic level, providing insights into the next generation of electronic, energy production, and storage materials.

Nuclear Physics Accelerator Technology Yields New Process for Producing Boron-Nitride Nanotubes

Using tools that enable nuclear physics research into the heart of matter, scientists created a material for applications from aerospace to solar panels.

What Is the Size of the Atomic Nucleus?

The neutron skin of the nucleus calcium-48 is much thinner than previously thought.

Biofuel Tech Straight from the Farm

Herbivore digestion involves a large variety of enzymes that break woody plants into biofuel building blocks.

Defects (red and blue markings) surprisingly self-organize in active liquid crystal film of protein filaments and such dynamic reorganization could lead to new approaches for designing self-healing materials.

Defects Lead to Order

Surprising order found in bundles of protein filaments that move chaotically and form liquid crystals that could led to novel self-healing.

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 width of a graphene nanoribbon determines its electronic properties, but controlling that width at the atomic scale is a challenge.

Legos for the Fabrication of Atomically Precise Electronic Circuits

Pre-designed molecular building blocks provide atomic-level control of the width of graphene nanoribbons.

Secretion in droplet-embedded gel permits self-repairing behavior.

Damaged Material, Heal Thyself

Internal storage compartments release droplets of “healing” liquid to repair damaged materials.

Using a scanning electron microscope, the identity of individual elements that make up a single grain of a material can be mapped from the x-rays emitted by the interactions of high energy electrons with the material.

New Materials Family on the Block

A family of single-phase materials was discovered with coexisting magnetic and electrical properties having potential for electronic applications.

Advanced electron microscopy technique permits the simultaneous collection of both signals: secondary electron (that are sensitive to the surface) and transmitted electron.

Atomic-Level Measurements of Rough Surfaces

Researchers use surface-sensitive signals to atomically resolve the structure of a rough surface.