Chemistry & Catalysis
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In a first, researchers identify reddish coloring in an ancient fossil – a 3-million-year-old mouse
X-rays reveal an extinct mouse was dressed in brown to reddish fur on its back and sides and had a tiny white tummy.
Todd Martinez and William Weis elected to National Academy of Sciences
Both are professors at Stanford and SLAC, where Martinez is an investigator with the Stanford PULSE Institute.
Capturing the behavior of single-atom catalysts on the move
Scientists precisely control where single-atom catalysts sit on their support structures, and show how changing their position affects their reactivity.
In brief: Watching molecules split in real time
A new method could be used to look at chemical reactions that other techniques can’t catch, for instance in catalysis, photovoltaics, peptide and combustion research.
SLAC’s high-speed ‘electron camera’ films molecular movie in HD
First direct look at how atoms move when a ring-shaped molecule breaks apart could boost our understanding of fundamental processes of life.
10 ways SLAC’s X-ray laser has transformed science
In the decade since LCLS produced its first light, it has pushed boundaries in countless areas of discovery.
A mile-long graveyard of Jurassic fossils sparks a new international science collaboration
Researchers will use SLAC’s X-ray light source to probe 150 million-year-old dinosaur fossils at the atomic level.
Researchers watch molecules in a light-triggered catalyst ring ‘like an ensemble of bells’
A better understanding of these systems will aid in developing next-generation energy technologies.
Untangling a strange phenomenon that both helps and hurts lithium-ion battery performance
New research offers the first complete picture of why a promising approach of stuffing more lithium into battery cathodes leads to their failure. A better understanding of this phenomenon could be the key to smaller phone batteries and electric cars that drive farther between charges.
Study shows single atoms can make more efficient catalysts
Detailed observations of iridium atoms at work could help make catalysts that drive chemical reactions smaller, cheaper and more efficient
