In the first comprehensive study at the ALS involving nanoARPES, researchers probed the electronic effects of defects in monolayer tungsten disulfide at the nanoscale. The extremely small scale of the measurements makes nanoARPES a great discovery tool that will be particularly useful for understanding new materials as they are invented. Read more »
Scientists Take a Deep Dive Into the Imperfect World of 2D Materials
Researchers combined a toolbox of techniques to home in on natural, nanoscale defects formed in the manufacture of monolayer WS2, measuring their electronic effects in detail not possible before. The latest result marks the first comprehensive study at the ALS involving nanoARPES, which researchers enlisted to probe the 2D samples with x-rays. Read more »
Plumbing the Depths of Interfaces and Finding Buried Treasure
Understanding the interfaces where solids and liquids meet is key to controlling a wide range of energy-relevant processes, from how batteries store energy to how metals corrode, and more. Now researchers have explored such interfaces and found what they describe as a treasure trove of unexpected results that expands our understanding of working interfaces and how to probe them. Read more »
How to Catch a Magnetic Monopole in the Act
A research team has created a nanoscale “playground” on a chip that simulates the formation of exotic magnetic particles called “monopoles.” The study could unlock the secrets to ever-smaller, more powerful memory devices, microelectronics, and next-generation hard drives that employ the power of magnetic spin to store data. Read more »
Getting to the Bottom of a Metal/Acid Interface
Researchers identified the molecules that collect at the interface between a platinum electrode and an acidic electrolyte under an applied voltage. Knowledge of the structure and composition of such nanometer-thin interface regions is key to understanding topics such as corrosion, geochemistry, electrocatalysis, and energy storage. Read more »
Ordered Magnetic Patterns in a Disordered Magnetic Material
Scientists have confirmed the presence of chirality, or handedness, in nanometers-thick samples of amorphous (noncrystalline) multilayer materials. The chirality—which potentially could be exploited to transmit and store data in a new way—was observed in the domain walls between neighboring regions of opposite spin. Read more »
Clues to the Solar System’s Original “Bricks and Mortar”
In comet dust, researchers discovered composite organic-inorganic mineral grains that are likely to be the original “bricks and mortar” of the solar system. “Forensic” samples preserved from the birth of the solar system allow investigations into the nature of the atomic and molecular ancestry of the terrestrial planets and life on Earth. Read more »
Oxygen Vacancies Matter in the LaNiO3 Metal–Insulator Transition
Electronic structure measurements using x-ray absorption spectroscopy suggest that oxygen vacancies contribute to the metal–insulator transition in ultrathin films of LaNiO3. The results give scientists another “knob” to turn to tune this important transition, which could be useful for making advanced electronic devices. Read more »
Molecular Anvils Trigger Chemical Reactions
“Molecular anvils” (diamondoids) were used to trigger chemical reactions using pressure, yielding products that differ from those produced in conventionally driven reactions with the same reactants. The discovery opens up new possibilities for the high-specificity synthesis of valuable but challenging molecules in an environmentally friendly process. Read more »
Non-Crystal Clarity: Scientists Find Ordered Magnetic Patterns in Disordered Magnetic Material
Scientists have confirmed the presence chirality, or handedness, in nanometers-thick samples of amorphous (noncrystalline) multilayer materials. The chirality—which potentially could be exploited to transmit and store data in a new way—was observed in the domain walls between neighboring regions of opposite spin. Read more »
