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Science: ORNL researchers tune friction in ionic solids at the nanoscale

Posted at 10:54 pm January 27, 2015
By Oak Ridge National Laboratory Leave a Comment

Friction Release

Researchers used electricity and water to control friction levels on ionic surfaces at the nanoscale. As water forms around the nanoscale electrode, it allows for further penetration into the sample surface, thereby increasing or decreasing friction. (Image courtesy ORNL)

Friction impacts motion, hence the need to control friction forces. Currently, this is accomplished by mechanistic means or lubrication, but experiments conducted by researchers at the U.S. Department of Energy’s Oak Ridge National Laboratory have uncovered a way of controlling friction on ionic surfaces at the nanoscale using electrical stimulation and ambient water vapor.

The research, which demonstrates a new physical effect, was undertaken at the Center for Nanophase Materials Sciences, a DOE Office of Science User Facility at ORNL, and is published in the journal Scientific Reports.

“Our finding can have a significant technological impact on applications for both macroscopic and nanoscale devices,” said lead author Evgheni Strelcov. “Decreasing or increasing nanoscale friction at will and thus controlling mechanical energy losses and wear of a microelectromechanical system’s parts has enormous implications for applied energy research and opens a new vista for fundamental science studies.” [Read more…]

Filed Under: Front Page News, Oak Ridge National Laboratory, Science, U.S. Department of Energy Tagged With: Alexander Tselev, Bobby Sumpter, Center for Nanophase Materials Science, Center for Nanophase Materials Sciences, Chemical Science Division, CNMS, Computer Science and Mathematics Division, electric field, electrical stimulation, Evgheni Strelcov, friction, friction forces, motion, nanoscale, Oak Ridge National Laboratory, ORNL, Rajeev Kumar, Scientific Reprots, Sergei Kalinin, U.S. Department of Energy, Vera Bocharova, water vapor

ORNL awarded two Energy Frontier Research Centers

Posted at 6:00 pm June 20, 2014
By Oak Ridge National Laboratory Leave a Comment

David Wesolowski and Yanwen Zhang

Pictured above are David Wesolowski, left, director of the Fluid Interface Reactions, Structures, and Transport Center; and Yanwen Zhang, director of the Energy Dissipation to Defect Evolution Center. (Photo courtesy ORNL)

Oak Ridge National Laboratory will be home to two Energy Frontier Research Centers announced this week by U.S. Energy Secretary Ernest Moniz. The Department of Energy awarded a total of $100 million to 32 EFRC projects to accelerate the scientific breakthroughs needed to build the 21st-century energy economy. 

“Today, we are mobilizing some of our most talented scientists to join forces and pursue the discoveries and breakthroughs that will lay the foundation for our nation’s energy future,” Secretary Moniz said. “The funding we’re announcing today will help fuel scientific and technological innovation.”

The two ORNL EFRCs are a renewal of the Fluid Interface Reactions, Structures, and Transport (FIRST) Center, which is led by David Wesolowski, and a new award to the Energy Dissipation to Defect Evolution (EDDE) Center, led by Yanwen Zhang.

ORNL scientists also partnered on successful proposals to lay the groundwork for fundamental advances in solar energy, electrical energy storage, carbon capture and sequestration, materials and chemistry by design, biosciences, and extreme environments. Those proposals include three new projects (led by the Georgia Institute of Technology, the State University of New York–Stony Brook, and Pennsylvania State University) and three renewals (led by Washington University in St. Louis, Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory, and the Massachusetts Institute of Technology). [Read more…]

Filed Under: Oak Ridge National Laboratory, Top Stories, U.S. Department of Energy Tagged With: Argonne National Laboratory, David Wesolowski, Drexel University, EDDE, EFRC, energy dissipation, Energy Dissipation to Defect Evolution Center, Energy Frontier Research Centers, energy technologies, Ernest Moniz, FIRST, Fluid Interface Reactions Structures and Transport Center, fluid-solid interfaces, irradiation, Los Alamos National Laboratory, Michelle Buchanan, nanoscale, Oak Ridge National Laboratory, Office of Science, ORNL, Pennsylvania State University, Thom Mason, U.S. Department of Energy, University of California–Berkeley, University of California–Davis, University of California–Riverside, University of Delaware, University of Michigan, University of Tennessee, University of Virginia, University of Wisconsin–Madison, Vanderbilt University, Yanwen Zhang

ORNL finding goes beyond surface of oxide films

Posted at 9:57 pm August 13, 2013
By Oak Ridge National Laboratory Leave a Comment

Oxide Figure

This figure shows the spectroscopic measurement (current as a function of voltage) and this as a function of temperature. (Reproduced by permission of The Royal Society of Chemistry)

Better batteries, catalysts, electronic information storage and processing devices are among potential benefits of an unexpected discovery made by Oak Ridge National Laboratory scientists using samples isolated from the atmosphere.

Researchers at the U.S. Department of Energy lab learned that key surface properties of complex oxide films are unaffected by reduced levels of oxygen during fabrication—an unanticipated finding with possible implications for the design of functional complex oxides used in a variety of consumer products, said Zheng Gai, a member of DOE’s Center for Nanoscale Materials Sciences at ORNL.

The findings are detailed in a paper published in Nanoscale. [Read more…]

Filed Under: Oak Ridge National Laboratory, Science, Top Stories, U.S. Department of Energy Tagged With: batteries, catalysts, Center for Nanoscale Materials Sciences, CNMS, complex oxides, DOE, electronic information storage, manganite, Materials Science and Technology Division, nanoscale, Oak Ridge National Laboratory, ORNL, oxide films, Paul Snijders, processing devices, scanning probe microscopy, U.S. Department of Energy, Zheng Gai

‘Strain tuning’ reveals promise in nanoscale manufacturing

Posted at 11:52 am November 20, 2012
By Oak Ridge National Laboratory Leave a Comment

Researchers at Oak Ridge National Laboratory have reported progress in fabricating advanced materials at the nanoscale. The spontaneous self-assembly of nanostructures composed of multiple elements paves the way toward materials that could improve a range of energy-efficient technologies and data storage devices.

ORNL Materials Science and Technology Division researcher Amit Goyal led the effort, combining theoretical and experimental studies to understand and control the self-assembly of insulating barium zirconium oxide nanodots and nanorods within barium-copper-oxide superconducting films.

[Read more…]

Filed Under: Science, Top Stories Tagged With: Advanced Functional Materials, Amit Goyal, Materials Science and Technology Division, nanoscale, Oak Ridge National Laboratory, Office of Science, ORNL, strain tuning, U.S. Department of Energy

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Public Notice: NNSA announces no significant impact of Y-12 Development Organization operations at Horizon Center

AVAILABILITY OF THE FINAL ENVIRONMENTAL ASSESSMENT FOR THE OFFSITE HOUSING OF THE Y-12 DEVELOPMENT … [Read More...]

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