News

March 11, 2026

1 MIN READ

Isotope labels reveal underlayer MoS2 bilayer growth

Scientific Achievement: Mo isotope labeling and molecular dynamics (MD) calculations revealed how vdW interactions with the substrate control the synthesis pathway of bilayer MoS2 – driving underlayer growth on SiO2/Si but overlayer growth on sapphire.Significance and Impact: Work provides mechanistic insight into confined epitaxial growth and establishes isotope labeling as a powerful probe of 2D materials synthesis.DOI: 10.1021/acsnano.5c20844

January 5, 2026

1 MIN READ

Ferroelectric materials boost data storage potential

ORNL researchers enhanced atomic force microscopy with machine learning to write and erase nanoscale patterns in ferroic materials. This innovation promises multistate memory capabilities and advances electronic data storage.

October 14, 2025

1 MIN READ

Taming fast ions to encapsulate 2D monolayers

Scientific Achievement: Ion flux diagnostics combined with in-situ Raman spectroscopy revealed that damage to monolayer (ML) graphene during pulsed laser deposition (PLD) of a protective layer is primarily driven by fast ions, and that their elimination results in damage free encapsulation of the 2D ML.Significance and Impact: This work establishes PLD as a scalable method for damage-free integration of 2D MLs into practical electronic, optoelectronic, and quantum devices.DOI: 10.1021/acsami.5c13634

October 7, 2024

6 MIN READ

Nanoscale method boosts materials for advanced memory storage

A research team led by scientists at the Department of Energy’s Oak Ridge National Laboratory has developed a novel technique for creating precise atomic arrangements in ferroelectrics, establishing a robust framework for advancing powerful new

September 26, 2024

1 MIN READ

On-demand Nanoengineering of Ferroelectric Topologies

June 19, 2024

1 MIN READ

Autonomous material synthesis by pulsed laser deposition.

Scientific Achievement: Autonomous synthesis by an automated PLD platform, in situ diagnostics, and AI-ML revealed the optimal growth regime and demonstrated 10x faster than traditional PLD synthesis. Significance and Impact: This study demonstrates a novel AI-ML guided synthesis approach that enables the accelerated discovery and autonomous optimization of the materials that can be synthesized by PLD. DOI: 10.1002/smtd.202301763

June 11, 2024

2 MIN READ

Researchers harness AI for autonomous discovery and optimization of materials

Today, scientific discovery is accelerated by automated experiments, artificial intelligence and high-performance computing. A novel tool developed at ORNL that leverages those technologies has demonstrated that AI can influence materials synthesis and conduct associated experiments without human supervision.

May 3, 2024

5 MIN READ

Tweaking isotopes sheds light on promising approach to engineer semiconductors

Research led by scientists at ORNL has demonstrated that small changes in the isotopic content of thin semiconductor materials can influence their optical and electronic properties, possibly opening the way to new and advanced designs

April 4, 2024

1 MIN READ

Abnormal isotopes effect on MoS2 optical bandgap

Scientific Achievement: By growing lateral heterostructures of monolayer MoS2 with different Mo isotopes, researchers observed intrinsic isotope effect on photoluminescence, revealing how phonons couple strongly with excitons to anomalously shift the optical band gap in 2D materials compared to conventional semiconductors.Significance and Impact: This study presents a novel approach for tailoring the optical and electronic properties of 2D materials through isotope engineering for future optoelectronic devices.DOI: 10.1126/sciadv.adj0758

January 12, 2024

2 MIN READ

Armor for steel

Researchers demonstrated that stainless steel and other metal alloys coated with hexagonal boron nitride, or hBN, exhibit non-stick or low-friction qualities along with improved long-term protection against harsh corrosion and high-temperature.

July 1, 2023

1 MIN READ

Gold to the rescue: Coupling plasmonic Au with 2D MoS2 endows superior photocatalytic hydrogen evolution

February 10, 2023

1 MIN READ

Real-time spectroscopy enables precision synthesis of metastable 2D materials

Scientific Achievement: The kinetic pathways of Janus monolayer formation were revealed by real-time Raman spectroscopy combined with plasma plume diagnostics during pulsed laser deposition (PLD), allowing the capture of 2D metastable alloys.Significance and Impact: This work demonstrates a general in situ diagnostic approach for precision synthesis and real-time adaptive control that are required to enable the autonomous discovery of novel materials and metastable phases.DOI: 10.1021/acsnano.2c09952