(Funded by the U.S. Department of Defense, the U.S. Department of Energy, the U.S. National Science Foundation, and the U.S. Department of State)
Researchers from Columbia University; the Molecular Foundry at the U.S. Department of Energy’s Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory; and the University of Utah have invented new nanoscale sensors of force. They are luminescent nanocrystals that can change intensity and/or color when you push or pull on them. These “all-optical” nanosensors are probed with light only and therefore allow for fully remote read-outs—no wires or connections are needed. The nanosensors have an operational range that spans more than four orders of magnitude in force – a much larger range than any previous optical nanosensor.

(Funded by the U.S. Department of Energy)
Researchers from the University of Missouri and the U.S. Department of Energy’s Oak Ridge National Laboratory have discovered a new type of quasiparticle that is found in nanostructured magnets, no matter their strength or temperature. “We’ve all seen the bubbles that form in sparkling water or other carbonated drink products,” said Carsten Ullrich, one of the scientists involved in this study. “The quasiparticles are like those bubbles, and we found they can freely move around at remarkably fast speeds.” This discovery could help the development of a new generation of electronics that are faster, smarter, and more energy-efficient.

(Funded by the U.S. Department of Energy and the National Institutes of Health)
Proteins called photosystems are critical to photosynthesis – the process used by plants to convert light energy from the sun into chemical energy. Combining one kind of these proteins, called photosystem I, with platinum nanoparticles, creates a biohybrid catalyst. Now, researchers from the U.S. Department of Energy’s Argonne National Laboratory and Yale University have determined the structure of the photosystem I biohybrid solar fuel catalyst. Building on more than 13 years of research pioneered at Argonne, the team reports the first high-resolution view of a biohybrid structure. This advancement opens the door for researchers to develop biohybrid solar fuel systems with improved performance, which would provide a sustainable alternative to traditional energy sources.

(Funded by the U.S. Department of Energy and the U.S. Department of Defense)
Researchers from New York University and Charles University in Prague, Czech Republic, have observed growth-induced self-organized stacking domains when three graphene layers are stacked and twisted with precision. The findings demonstrate how specific stacking arrangements in three-layer graphene systems emerge naturally – eliminating the need for complex, non-scalable techniques traditionally used in graphene twisting fabrication. The size and shape of these stacking domains are influenced by the interplay of strain and the geometry of the three-layer graphene regions. Some domains form as stripe-like structures, tens of nanometers wide and extending over microns.

(Funded by the U.S. Department of Energy and the U.S. National Science Foundation)
Materials that conduct electricity well, like metals, also tend to conduct heat. But researchers at Drexel University, Villanova University, Temple University, Bryn Mawr College, Rice University, and Université catholique de Louvain in Belgium have discovered that MXenes, a type of material known for its excellent electrical conductivity, actually have very low thermal conductivity. This discovery challenges the usual link between electrical and heat conduction and could lead to new developments in building materials, performance apparel, and energy storage solutions. “Thermal insulation of this magnitude … would simply have been unimaginable until now,” said Yury Gogotsi, one of the scientists involved in this research. “This could change the way we insulate buildings and industrial equipment, and make thermal clothing, just to name a few exciting possibilities.”