Nano-breakthrough: Solving the case of the herringbone crystal

Leading nanoscientists created beautiful, tiled patterns with flat nanocrystals, but they were left with a mystery: Why did some sets of crystals arrange themselves in an alternating, herringbone style? To find out, they ...

Researchers create a magnet made of one molecule

Sometimes making a brand-new type of box requires outside-the-box thinking, which is exactly what Spartan chemists used to create an eight-atom, magnetic cube.

New sensor detects rare metals used in smartphones

A more efficient and cost-effective way to detect lanthanides, the rare earth metals used in smartphones and other technologies, could be possible with a new protein-based sensor that changes its fluorescence when it binds ...

Subtlety and the selective art of separating lanthanides

Lanthanide elements are essential parts of today's high-tech commodities including flat-screen TVs, cell phones, electric cars, and satellites. While the demand for these elements is high, separating lanthanides from impurities ...

Extracting rare earth materials from consumer products

In a new twist on the state's mining history, a group of Idaho scientists will soon be crushing consumer electronics rather than rocks in a quest to recover precious materials. DOE's Ames Laboratory will lead the new Critical ...

Chemists create an emission molecular thermometer

Future technologies rely on phenomena that were previously considered the exclusive domain of theoretical physics or chemistry. For example, the approach to devices with high-density information storage arose when chemists ...

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