Science Highlights

The ring pattern from the new transmission X-ray diffraction analysis is from the polycrystalline nature of the alloy - in other words, it indicates that the atoms are arranged in small crystalline regions (called grains) that have many different orientations.

Finding a Needle in a Crystalline Haystack

New X-ray technique reveals the presence of one-in-a-million large crystalline regions from metals fatiguing—stabilization schemes could lead to impervious metals.

Progressively magnified images of graphene nanoribbons grown on germanium semiconductor wafers.

Growing Graphene Ribbons in One Direction

New method to fabricate graphene nanoribbon arrays on semiconductor wafers turns semimetal into semiconductor.

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.

DOE Isotope Program Provides Target Material for the Discovery of Superheavy Elements

New element 117 and its decay products establish the existence of long-sought Island of Stability.

A new algorithm reduces timing uncertainty by a factor of 300, revealing ultrafast dynamics on timescales as short as a quadrillionth of a second.

Creating a Better Way to Find Out “When”

Computer algorithm recovers histories and dynamics on timescales much faster than uncertainties inherent in experimental data.

Selective etching of palladium (blue) from palladium-platinum core-shell nanoparticles (left) yields hollow platinum (grey) nanocages with high activity for the oxygen reduction reaction.

Hollow and Filled with Potential

Hollow shape-selected platinum nanocages represent a new class of highly active catalysts.

This results demonstrate a temporal resolution sufficient to directly image chemical reactions.

Capturing Molecular Motion with Relativistic Electrons

The world’s fastest images of nitrogen molecules rotating in a gas were captured using electron diffraction.

The orange carotenoid protein of cyanobacteria binds a single carotenoid pigment molecule that may dissipate excess light energy when it moves within the protein.

Changing Colors for Built-in Sunblock

Molecular movements triggered by light redirect the flow of energy through photosynthetic cells to protect them from sun damage.

Researchers discovered how green fluorescent proteins (center) react with water (shown around the edges of the protein).

New Insight on a Familiar Glow

A new approach to investigating green fluorescent protein provides a vital tool for unraveling molecular-level details of processes important in biology and light harvesting for energy use.