New approach to designing ordered composite materials for possible energy applications.

Nano-coated mesh could clean oil spills for less than $1 per square foot.

Take a material that is a focus of interest in the quest for advanced solar cells. Discover a "freshman chemistry level" technique for growing that material into high-efficiency, ultra-small lasers. The result, disclosed today (Monday, April 13) in Nature Materials, is a shortcut to lasers that are extremely efficient and able to create many colors of light.

The elusive quantum phenomenon—called van Vleck magnetism—may allow scientists to manipulate topological insulators and engineer new electronics.

Identifying where buildup comes from will lead to improved rechargeable batteries

Could you make Valyrian steel using real-life chemistry?

Collective, fast diffusion observed by Ames Laboratory team could represent a new way to grow perfect, tiny metal nanostructures. 

New material opens the door to low-cost, environmentally friendly energy use.

If you’re allergic to natural rubber latex, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration has good news for you: in the future, you are less likely to be misinformed about the absence of this allergen in such products as medical devices. To avoid false assurances about this hazard to your health, FDA is recommending to manufacturers to stop using the labels “latex-free” or “does not contain latex.”

Researchers at the University of Texas at Dallas have created new structures that exploit the electromechanical properties of specific nanofibers to stretch to up to seven times their length, while remaining tougher than Kevlar.

The Critical Materials Institute, a U.S. Department of Energy Innovation Hub led by the Ames Labratory, has created a new chemical process that makes use of the widely available rare-earth metal cerium to improve the manufacture of nylon.

Less than 1 percent of Earth’s water is drinkable. Removing salt and other minerals from our biggest available source of water—seawater—may help satisfy a growing global population thirsty for fresh water for drinking, farming, transportation, heating, cooling and industry. But desalination is an energy-intensive process, which concerns those wanting to expand its application.