Materials science

Encapsulating precious-metal catalysts in a web-like alumina framework could reduce the amount needed in catalytic converters – and our dependency on these scarce metals.

Studying a material that even more closely resembles the composition of ice giants, researchers found that oxygen boosts the formation of diamond rain.

Spiraling laser light reveals how topological insulators lose their ability to conduct electric current on their surfaces.

Waves of magnetic excitation sweep through this exciting new material whether it’s in superconducting mode or not – another possible clue to how unconventional superconductors carry electric current with no loss.

Researchers discover they contain a phase of quantum matter, known as charge density waves, that’s common in other unconventional superconductors. In other ways, though, they’re surprisingly unique.

Molecular movie-making is both an art and a science; the results let us watch how nature works on the smallest scales.

How quickly a battery electrode decays depends on properties of individual particles in the battery – at first. Later on, the network of particles matters more.

A physical chemist and a diverse group of his students are working on applications with nanoscopic diamonds.

It’s a significant step in understanding these whirling quasiparticles and putting them to work in future semiconductor technologies.

SLAC’s Matt Garrett and Susan Simpkins talk about tech transfer that brings innovations from the national lab to the people, including advances for medical devices and self-driving vehicles.

A laser compressing an aluminum crystal provides a clearer view of a material’s plastic deformation, potentially leading to the design of stronger nuclear fusion materials and spacecraft shields.

Researchers mimicked these extreme impacts in the lab and discovered new details about how they transform minerals in Earth’s crust.