Fluctuations Mark Phase Changes in Magnetic Films August 26, 2023 - Researchers discovered that nanoscale spin fluctuations deep inside ordered states of a magnetic film can characterize phase transitions, independent of underlying magnetic interactions. The results provide a new way to predict and understand phase transitions in materials relevant to high-density, energy-efficient microelectronics. Read more »
Eco-Friendly Processing of Organic Photovoltaics August 21, 2023 - Researchers controlled the mixing of electron-donating and -accepting constituents of an organic photovoltaic (OPV) material made using a process that replaces toxic solvents with water. With efficiencies comparable to less eco-friendly OPVs, this material shows promise for many advanced device and building applications. Read more »
An Organic Transistor That Can Sense, Process, and Remember August 21, 2023 - Traditional AI hardware employs physically separated information sensing, processing, and memory architecture, a configuration that suffers from large energy and time overhead. Now, researchers have fabricated an organic transistor device that can simultaneously act as the sensor and processing core of a streamlined AI hardware system. Read more »
Capturing the Spin Dynamics of a Complex Magnetic Material July 21, 2023 - Magnetic iron oxides (ferrites) are complex materials with broad electronic applications that are often driven by microwaves. Here, researchers have precisely measured the spin behavior of several distinct cations in a ferrite material under an applied microwave field, validating a longstanding assumption about magnetic oxide dynamics. Read more »
A New Pathway for Clearing Misfolded Proteins July 20, 2023 - Researchers integrated several approaches, such as cryogenic 3D imaging at the ALS, to define a novel cellular pathway—involving a shared “garbage dump”—for clearing misfolded proteins from cells. The pathway is a potential therapy target for age-related diseases like Alzheimer’s, Huntington’s, and Parkinson’s diseases. Read more » 
Keeping Water-Treatment Membranes from Fouling Out July 20, 2023 - When you use a membrane for water treatment, junk builds up on the membrane surface—a process called fouling—which makes the treatment less efficient. In this work, researchers studied how membranes are fouled by interactions between natural organic matter and positively charged ions commonly found in water. Read more »
Coaxing Molecules to Stand Tall for Better Solar Cells July 18, 2023 - Multimodal probes revealed a way to prevent the formation of undesirable phases in a perovskite-type compound that shows promise for the efficient harvesting of light for solar cells. The work led to new fabrication protocols that resulted in devices with improved power-conversion efficiencies and operational stability. Read more » 
Breaking Barriers in Drug Delivery with Better Lipid Nanoparticles July 17, 2023 - A collaboration between Berkeley Lab and Genentech, a member of the Roche Group, is working to break through some of the drug delivery bottlenecks by designing the most effective lipid nanoparticles (LNPs)—tiny spherical pouches made of fatty molecules that encapsulate therapeutic agents until they dock with cell membranes and release their contents. Read more »
Toward High Efficiency Water Processed Organic Photovoltaics: Controlling the Nanoparticle Morphology with Surface Energies July 14, 2023 - Researchers achieve power conversion efficiencies approaching 10% by careful control of the nanoparticle and thin film morphologies thanks to surface energy considerations. This approach opens the route to low environmental footprint photovoltaics. Representing the promise of this sustainable direction in organic photovoltaics, the image shows the deposition of the active layer from water-based nanoparticles inks. Read more »
A Molecular-Scale Understanding of Misorientation Toughening in Corals and Seashells July 13, 2023 - Researchers reveal that the toughness of polycrystalline seashells and coral skeletons is increased by small misorientation of adjacent crystals. The findings pave the way toward bioinspired materials with tunable toughness. Read more »