A LANL team demonstrates that using their “designer” quantum dots, they can achieve light amplification in a nanocrystal solid with direct-current electrical pumping

Understanding process that creates complex crystals important for energy applications

Method for growing 'hybrid' crystals at the nanoscale incorporates quantum dots into a host nanowire with perfect junctions between the components.

From new insights into the building blocks of matter to advances in understanding batteries, superconductors, and a protein that could help fight cancer, 2014 was a year of stunning successes for the U.S. Department of Energy's Brookhaven National Laboratory. Oh, and did we mention the opening of a brand new facility that will push the limits of discovery across the scientific spectrum? For details on these and the rest of our Top-10 breakthroughs, check out the items below. You can follow Brookhaven Lab on Facebook, Twitter, and Tumblr to learn about the discoveries of 2015 as they happen.

Two breakthrough studies track the nanoscale structural changes that degrade battery performance during cycles of charge and discharge.

Berkeley Lab researchers discover new rules for single-particle imaging with light-emitting nanocrystals.

In a new study, the crystals had no toxic effects in non-human primates