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Media Contacts
![Batteries—Polymers that bind](/sites/default/files/styles/list_page_thumbnail/public/2019-06/Batteries-Polymers_that_bind_0.png?h=dec22bcf&itok=oJ7mroY1)
A team of researchers at Oak Ridge National Laboratory have demonstrated that designed synthetic polymers can serve as a high-performance binding material for next-generation lithium-ion batteries.
![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 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)
![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.
![ORNL will use state-of-the-art R&D tools at the Battery Manufacturing Facility to develop new methods for separating and reclaiming valuable materials from spent EV batteries.](/sites/default/files/styles/list_page_thumbnail/public/2019-02/2015-P01989cropped_1.jpg?h=f2976007&itok=mqNFUyYu)
The use of lithium-ion batteries has surged in recent years, starting with electronics and expanding into many applications, including the growing electric and hybrid vehicle industry. But the technologies to optimize recycling of these batteries have not kept pace.
![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...
![At the salt–metal interface, thermodynamic forces drive chromium from the bulk of a nickel alloy, leaving a porous, weakened layer. Impurities in the salt drive further corrosion of the structural material. Credit: Stephen Raiman/Oak Ridge National Labora At the salt–metal interface, thermodynamic forces drive chromium from the bulk of a nickel alloy, leaving a porous, weakened layer. Impurities in the salt drive further corrosion of the structural material. Credit: Stephen Raiman/Oak Ridge National Labora](/sites/default/files/styles/list_page_thumbnail/public/story%20tip%20image%20BW%20only.jpg?itok=Vbc0iTLt)
Oak Ridge National Laboratory scientists analyzed more than 50 years of data showing puzzlingly inconsistent trends about corrosion of structural alloys in molten salts and found one factor mattered most—salt purity.
![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.
![ORNL alanine_graphic.jpg ORNL alanine_graphic.jpg](/sites/default/files/styles/list_page_thumbnail/public/ORNL%20alanine_graphic.jpg?itok=iRLfcOw-)
OAK RIDGE, Tenn., Jan. 31, 2019—A new electron microscopy technique that detects the subtle changes in the weight of proteins at the nanoscale—while keeping the sample intact—could open a new pathway for deeper, more comprehensive studies of the basic building blocks of life.
![Supercomputing-Memory_boost1.jpg Supercomputing-Memory_boost1.jpg](/sites/default/files/styles/list_page_thumbnail/public/Supercomputing-Memory_boost1.jpg?itok=dDR8CnYC)
Scientists at Oak Ridge National Laboratory and Hypres, a digital superconductor company, have tested a novel cryogenic, or low-temperature, memory cell circuit design that may boost memory storage while using less energy in future exascale and quantum computing applications.