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Media Contacts
![The illustrations show how the correlation between lattice distortion and proton binding energy in a material affects proton conduction in different environments. Mitigating this interaction could help researchers improve the ionic conductivity of solid materials.](/sites/default/files/styles/list_page_thumbnail/public/2019-05/Figure_Rosenthal_5-1-19_0.png?h=73c01546&itok=-tjVhDfm)
Ionic conduction involves the movement of ions from one location to another inside a material. The ions travel through point defects, which are irregularities in the otherwise consistent arrangement of atoms known as the crystal lattice. This sometimes sluggish process can limit the performance and efficiency of fuel cells, batteries, and other energy storage technologies.
![In ORNL’s Low Activation Materials Development and Analysis Laboratory, Field makes use of a transmission electron microscope to examine a sample made with a focused ion beam. He investigates the defects produced in a FeCrAl alloy bombarded with neutrons in HFIR. Credit: Carlos Jones/Oak Ridge National Laboratory, U.S. Dept. of Energy](/sites/default/files/styles/list_page_thumbnail/public/2019-03/2018-P08721%20%28first%29.jpg?h=8f9cfe54&itok=sRzTcetb)
Kevin Field at the Department of Energy’s Oak Ridge National Laboratory synthesizes and scrutinizes materials for nuclear power systems that must perform safely and efficiently over decades of irradiation.
![In this MXene electrode, choosing the appropriate solvent for the electrolyte can increase energy density significantly. This scanning electron microscopy image shows fine features of a film only 5 microns thick—approximately 10 times narrower than a human hair. Credit: Drexel University; image by Tyler Mathis](/sites/default/files/styles/list_page_thumbnail/public/2019-03/MXene%20electrode_0.jpg?h=e9daaebf&itok=YNpINGl2)
![carbon nanospikes carbon nanospikes](/sites/default/files/styles/list_page_thumbnail/public/carbon_nanospikes.jpg?itok=D0GNAvH4)
OAK RIDGE, Tenn., March 1, 2019—ReactWell, LLC, has licensed a novel waste-to-fuel technology from the Department of Energy’s Oak Ridge National Laboratory to improve energy conversion methods for cleaner, more efficient oil and gas, chemical and
![To develop complex materials with superior properties, Vera Bocharova uses diverse methods including broadband dielectric spectroscopy. Credit: Oak Ridge National Laboratory, U.S. Dept. of Energy; photographer Jason Richards](/sites/default/files/styles/list_page_thumbnail/public/2019-02/2016-p05202.jpg?h=b6236d98&itok=w-Sd8giq)
Vera Bocharova at the Department of Energy’s Oak Ridge National Laboratory investigates the structure and dynamics of soft materials—polymer nanocomposites, polymer electrolytes and biological macromolecules—to advance materials and technologies for energy, medicine and other applications.
![An ORNL-developed graphite foam, which could be used in plasma-facing components in fusion reactors, performed well during testing at the Wendlestein 7-X stellarator in Germany.](/sites/default/files/styles/list_page_thumbnail/public/2019-02/W7-XPlasmaExposure_0.jpg?h=d5d04e3b&itok=uKiauhdF)
Scientists have tested a novel heat-shielding graphite foam, originally created at Oak Ridge National Laboratory, at Germany’s Wendelstein 7-X stellarator with promising results for use in plasma-facing components of fusion reactors.
![Sean Hearne has been named director of the Center for Nanophase Materials Sciences at Oak Ridge National Laboratory. Sean Hearne has been named director of the Center for Nanophase Materials Sciences at Oak Ridge National Laboratory.](/sites/default/files/styles/list_page_thumbnail/public/news/images/2019-P00370.jpg?itok=6sC8Bnj7)
OAK RIDGE, Tenn., Feb. 8, 2019—The Department of Energy’s Oak Ridge National Laboratory has named Sean Hearne director of the Center for Nanophase Materials Sciences. The center is a DOE Office of Science User Facility that brings world-leading resources and capabilities to the nanoscience resear...
![Researchers analyzed the oxygen structure (highlighted in red) found in a perovskite’s crystal structure at room temperature, 500°C and 900°C using neutron scattering at ORNL’s Spallation Neutron Source. Analyzing how these structures impact solid oxide f Researchers analyzed the oxygen structure (highlighted in red) found in a perovskite’s crystal structure at room temperature, 500°C and 900°C using neutron scattering at ORNL’s Spallation Neutron Source. Analyzing how these structures impact solid oxide f](/sites/default/files/styles/list_page_thumbnail/public/Neutron-Fueling_better_power_image1.jpg?itok=tZtIORnX)
A University of South Carolina research team is investigating the oxygen reduction performance of energy conversion materials called perovskites by using neutron diffraction at Oak Ridge National Laboratory’s Spallation Neutron Source.
![Jon Poplawsky of Oak Ridge National Laboratory combines atom probe tomography (revealed by this LEAP 4000XHR instrument) with electron microscopy to characterize the compositions, structures, and functions of materials for energy and information technolog Jon Poplawsky of Oak Ridge National Laboratory combines atom probe tomography (revealed by this LEAP 4000XHR instrument) with electron microscopy to characterize the compositions, structures, and functions of materials for energy and information technolog](/sites/default/files/styles/list_page_thumbnail/public/2018-P09428_0.jpg?itok=rCMBpuR3)
Jon Poplawsky, a materials scientist at the Department of Energy’s Oak Ridge National Laboratory, develops and links advanced characterization techniques that improve our ability to see and understand atomic-scale features of diverse materials
![Picture2.png Picture2.png](/sites/default/files/styles/list_page_thumbnail/public/Picture2_1.png?itok=IV4n9XEh)
Oak Ridge National Laboratory scientists studying fuel cells as a potential alternative to internal combustion engines used sophisticated electron microscopy to investigate the benefits of replacing high-cost platinum with a lower cost, carbon-nitrogen-manganese-based catalyst.