Scientists have characterized carp scales down to the nanoscale, using the ALS to watch how the fibers in the scales react as stress is applied. The resulting insights provide inspiration for the design of advanced synthetic structural materials with unprecedented toughness and penetration resistance. Read more »
2D Electronics Get an Atomic Tuneup
Researchers demonstrated a promising avenue for controlling atomic ordering in semiconductor alloys by engineering frustrated interactions in a 2D transition metal dichalcogenide (TMD). The work could lead to improved semiconductor performance for next-generation electronics such as optoelectronics, thermoelectrics, and sensors. Read more »
Scientists Dive Deep Into Hidden World of Quantum States
Researchers discovered two unique electronic properties—a Van Hove singularity and Fermi surface topology—at the interface between atomically thin oxide materials. The results suggest that the system is an ideal platform for investigating how to control superconductivity at the atomic scale in 2D materials. Read more »
Off the Scales: Fish Armor Both Tough and Flexible
Humans have drawn technological inspiration from fish scales going back to ancient times: Romans, Egyptians, and other civilizations would dress their warriors in scale armor, providing both protection and mobility. Now, scientists have characterized carp scales down to the nanoscale, enabling them to understand how the material is resistant to penetration while retaining flexibility. Read more »
Water Improves Material’s Ability to Capture CO2
With the help of the ALS, researchers from UC Berkeley and ExxonMobil fine-tuned a material to capture CO2 in the presence of water. The parties have applied for a patent on the material, which was developed for use on the relatively humid flue gases emitted by certain natural gas power plants, a cleaner-burning alternative to coal. Read more » 
Freeze Frame: Scientists Capture Atomic-Scale Snapshots of Artificial Proteins
Protein-like molecules called polypeptoids have great promise as precision building blocks for creating a variety of designer nanomaterials. In this study, rsearchers used cryo-EM, a technique originally designed to image proteins in solution, as well as x-ray scattering techniques, to characterize the structure of polypeptide nanosheets. Read more »
The Beauty of Imperfections: Linking Atomic Defects to 2D Materials’ Electronic Properties
Two studies reveal surprising details on how some atomic defects emerge in transition metal dichalcogenides (TMDs), and how those defects shape the material’s electronic properties. The findings could provide a more platform for designing 2D materials for quantum information science and smaller, more powerful optoelectronics. Read more »
Infrared Nanospectroscopy at Graphene–Liquid Interfaces
Researchers developed a new infrared approach to probing the first few molecular layers of a liquid in contact with a graphene electrode under operating conditions. The work offers a new way to study the interfaces that are key to understanding batteries, corrosion, and other bio- and electrochemical phenomena. Read more »
Infrared Nano-Mapping of Local Strain in 2D Materials
Researchers have demonstrated an infrared technique to map and analyze strain in atomically thin crystals of hexagonal boron nitride (hBN) at the nanoscale. This ultrasensitive strain-imaging method could be a promising tool for the examination of low-dimensional materials of interest for electronic and photonic devices. Read more »
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 »
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