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Catalyst Improves Cycling Life of Magnesium/Sulfur Batteries

Magnesium/sulfur batteries hold promise as a safer, energy-dense advancement, but previous iterations have suffered from extremely limited recharging capabilities. Studies at the ALS provided electrochemical insights into battery polarization and revealed how a titanium catalyst activates magnesium/sulfur compounds to improve battery performance. Read more »

Linking Structure to Behavior in Twisted Liquid Crystals

Researchers untangled connections between structure and behavior in a class of liquid crystals consisting of flexible, chain-like molecules that self-organize into twisting patterns. The study opens up new possibilities for designing novel liquid-crystal molecules that allow greater control of nanoscale behavior for technological applications. Read more »PPT-icon-35 PDF-icon-35

A Crackling Analysis of Stripe and Skyrmion Phases

Through statistical analysis of “crackling” (a system’s jerky response to slowly changing conditions), researchers demonstrated fundamental differences between skyrmion and stripe phases in a layered heterostructure. The method has broad applicability to many complex materials of interest for emerging information technologies. Read more »

Here Comes the Sun: A New Framework for Artificial Photosynthesis

Scientists have long sought to mimic the process by which plants make their own fuel using sunlight, carbon dioxide, and water through artificial photosynthesis devices, but exactly how catalysts work to generate renewable fuel remains a mystery. Now, a study has uncovered new insight into how to better control cobalt oxide, one of the most promising catalysts for artificial photosynthesis. Read more »

Electric Dipoles Form Chiral Skyrmions

Researchers demonstrated that polar skyrmions—cousins of magnetic skyrmions but comprising swirls of electric dipoles instead of spins—exhibit chirality in a material with electrically switchable properties. Control of such phenomena could one day lead to low-power, nonvolatile data storage as well as to high-performance computers. Read more »PPT-icon-35 PDF-icon-35

Announcement on High-Field Bend Magnets in the ALS-U Project

The ALS-U Project has been weighing which technology to implement to have the best chance of preserving the ALS’s highly valuable and productive tender and hard x-ray programs after the ALS is upgraded. Taking into account both user needs as well as the project’s technical risk, schedule, and cost, we have decided to move forward with permanent magnet (3.2 T) source points. Read more »

The Stomatopod Telson: Convergent Evolution in the Development of a Biological Shield

In this article, researchers identify multiscale structure‐mechanical property relationships within the shield-like exoskeletal telson structure of the mantis shrimp, used for defense and protection. Comparison of telsons from two evolutionarily divergent species reveal differences in macromorphology, cuticle thickness, and mineralization, imparting compressive stiffness as well as compliance for energy absorption. Read more »