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 SLAC develops materials to improve the performance of batteries, fuel cells and other energy technologies and set the stage for technologies of the future.

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Energy sciences

In materials hit with light, individual atoms and vibrations take disorderly paths.

News Feature

When it comes to improving the performance of lithium-ion batteries, no part should be overlooked – not even the glue that binds materials together...

Image -  A new binder material forms a fine-grained (top) lithium sulfide/carbon composite cathode, compared with the large clumps (bottom) that form when another common binder is used.
Press Release

Researchers from the U.S. Department of Energy's (DOE) SLAC National Accelerator Laboratory have clocked the fastest-possible electrical switching in magnetite, a naturally magnetic mineral...

Artists concept shows laser hitting atomic structure and breaking it
Press Release

Through innovations to a printing process, researchers have made major improvements to organic electronics – a technology in demand for lightweight, low-cost solar cells...

Array of 1-mm-wide by 2-cm-long single-crystal organic semiconductors
News Feature

Pushing gold exploration to the nanoscale, scientists used SLAC's Linac Coherent Light Source X-ray laser to produce a series of 3-D images that detail...

Image - 3-D rendering of a gold nanocrystal, with are...
Press Release

Menlo Park, Calif. — Researchers from the U.S. Department of Energy’s (DOE) SLAC National Accelerator Laboratory and Stanford University have designed a low-cost, long-life...

Photo of battery demonstration, a flask half-full of ...
News Feature

Stephanie Mack, 20, read and reread the email in disbelief.

Photo - Shih-Wen Huang, left, and Stephanie Mack in Soft X-ray Instrument  control room
News Feature

Using laser light to read and write magnetic data by quickly flipping tiny magnetic domains could help keep pace with the demand for faster...

Photo - inside RCI sample chamber
Press Release

The ultrafast, ultrabright X-ray pulses of the Linac Coherent Light Source (LCLS) have enabled unprecedented views of a catalyst in action, an important step...

Artist rendition: molecules react with the surface of a catalyst in real time
News Feature

A material that could enable faster memory chips and more efficient batteries can switch between high and low ionic conductivity states much faster than...

Image - Artistic rendering of elements at atomic level.
News Feature

Daniel DePonte, a pioneer in finding ways to serve up a steady and precise supply of crystals, viruses and other precious samples for laser...

Photo - Daniel DePonte standing in experimental station.
News Feature

The way electrons move within and between molecules, transferring energy as they go, plays an important role in many chemical and biological processes, such...

Image - Tubular, color-coded molecular model.
News Feature

A team led by SLAC and Stanford scientists has made an important discovery toward understanding how a large group of complex copper oxide materials...

Photo - Scientists standing with equipment at SLAC.