Energy Science

RSS Feed RSS Feed


October 7, 2021
News Feature
Department of Energy gives green light for a flagship petawatt laser facility at SLAC
High-power lasers will work in concert with the lab’s X-ray laser to dramatically improve our understanding of matter in extreme conditions.
diamond rain
September 30, 2021
News Feature
Scientists capture the fleeting transition of water into a highly reactive state
This is the first direct observation of a hydroxyl-hydronium complex – important for a wide range of chemical and biological processes from the tails of comets to cancer treatment.
ued ionized water
August 31, 2021
News Feature
A new approach creates an exceptional single-atom catalyst for water splitting
Anchoring individual iridium atoms on the surface of a catalytic particle boosted its performance in carrying out a reaction that’s been a bottleneck for sustainable energy production.
Alt text: Illustration showing surface of a catalyst as a lattice work of atoms, with single iridium molecules held above it on tiny 8-sided structures to facilitate splitting of water molecules seen floating above
August 25, 2021
Press Release
In a first, scientists capture a ‘quantum tug’ between neighboring water molecules
The work sheds light on the web of hydrogen bonds that gives water its strange properties, which play a vital role in many chemical and biological processes.
UED Water
August 4, 2021
News Feature
Scientists show a single catalyst can perform the first step of turning CO2 into fuel in two very different ways
Their work aims to bridge two approaches to driving the reaction – one powered by heat, the other by electricity – with the goal of discovering more efficient and sustainable ways to convert carbon dioxide into useful products.
A ball-and-stick illustration of a single nickel atom (green) bonded to nitrogen atoms (blue) on the surface of a carbon material. The arrangement allows the nickel atoms to catalyze two types of reactions involved in making fuel from CO2.
July 16, 2021
News Feature
External
Scientists turn methane into methanol at room temperature
An international team led by SLAC/Stanford Professor Ed Solomon used a tantalizing principle borrowed from nature to turn harmful methane into useful methanol.
Hannah Rhoda with the resonance Raman spectroscopy equipment at Stanford
July 9, 2021
News Feature
SLAC hosts Secretary of Energy Jennifer Granholm for a virtual visit
She toured the lab’s powerful X-ray laser, looked at the construction of the world’s largest digital camera, and discussed climate research, industries of the future, and diversity, equity and inclusion in the sciences.
Secretary Granholm virtual visit
June 11, 2021
News Feature
External
SLAC to coordinate with Precourt on energy research incorporating environmental justice and social equity
The lab will help fund the work of researchers who use artificial intelligence and machine learning to make energy systems more sustainable, affordable, resilient and fair to all socioeconomic groups.
Portrait of Yi Cui, director of the Precourt Institute at Stanford
May 5, 2021
News Feature
First nanoscale look at a reaction that limits the efficiency of generating clean hydrogen fuel
With a new suite of tools, scientists discovered exactly how tiny plate-like catalyst particles carry out a key step in that conversion – the evolution of oxygen in an electrocatalytic cell – in unprecedented detail.
illustration of nanoscale catalyst particles in the form of flat, hexagonal plates evolving bubbles of oxygen
March 22, 2021
News Feature
First closeups of how a lithium-metal electrode ages
Scientists have documented a process that makes these next-gen batteries lose charge – and eventually some of their capacity for storing energy – even when a device is turned off.

Pages