Showing 30 results for Researcher: Tomonori Saito
May 11, 2026
7 MIN READ
ORNL and startup Vitriform3D are transforming discarded glass bottles into durable new products using 3D-printing technology. By crushing recycled glass into powder and using a binder jetting process, the team is creating decorative tiles, building materials, and other products while reducing landfill waste and exploring new sustainable manufacturing applications.
April 9, 2026
5 MIN READ
Researchers at ORNL have uncovered a path to design superionic polymer electrolytes for solid-state batteries and other energy applications that could help ensure a future of abundant and reliable energy for the United States.
April 8, 2026
6 MIN READ
Researchers at ORNL developed a method to convert a commonly discarded hydrocarbon polymer into gasoline- and diesel-like fuels. The team has applied for a patent for the discovery, which treats polyethylene — the stuff of white cutting boards and shopping bags — with aluminum chloride-containing molten salts that serve as both solvent and catalyst. If scaled beyond the laboratory, the process could strengthen U.S. energy security and industrial competitiveness.
March 16, 2026
6 MIN READ
Researchers at ORNL have invented a reusable adhesive from waste polymers that is tougher than commercial glues, works underwater as well as in dry environments, and bonds a variety of materials. Inspired by the way mussels stick to surfaces, the innovative adhesive contains reversible chemical crosslinkers that allow the hardened glue to soften, detach and be reused.
May 15, 2025
1 MIN READ
Scientific Achievement: AlCl3-containing molten salts were found to ensure high catalytic efficiency in the conversion of polyethylene plastics to fuels through the stabilization of carbenium intermediates.Significance and Impact: Research results provide a new pathway for the efficient conversion of plastic waste to fuels, potentially impacting the energy supply chain.DOI: 10.1021/jacs.5c01107
April 14, 2025
5 MIN READ
ORNL, the Tennessee Valley Authority and the Tennessee Department of Economic and Community Development were recognized by the Federal Laboratory Consortium, or FLC, for their efforts to develop Tennessee as a national leader in fusion energy.
February 21, 2025
1 MIN READ
Scientific Achievement: A new mechanism of polyalkenamers undergoing chain transfer with various cyclic olefin monomers was unveiled, enabling waste plastic to be used as an additive to control polymer molecular weight and composition during polymer synthesis.Significance and Impact: Using waste plastic as a drop-in additive for polymer synthesis conserves valuable material and energy and provides value-added upcycled materials.DOI: 10.1021/jacs.4c10588
January 17, 2025
6 MIN READ
By editing the polymers of discarded plastics, ORNL chemists have found a way to generate new macromolecules with more valuable properties than those of the starting material.
November 22, 2024
4 MIN READ
Seven scientists affiliated with ORNL have been named Battelle Distinguished Inventors in recognition of being granted 14 or more United States patents. Since Battelle began managing ORNL in 2000, 104 ORNL researchers have reached this milestone.
September 4, 2024
5 MIN READ
Flexcon Global has exclusively licensed two patented inventions to manufacture a self-healing barrier film from ORNL for research and development purposes. The film can be incorporated into vacuum insulation panels to increase the efficiency of buildings during retrofits. Under a cooperative research and development agreement that began in 2021, Flexcon and ORNL have been exploring the capabilities of the technology and fine-tuning its properties.
June 6, 2024
6 MIN READ
Building innovations from ORNL will be on display in Washington, D.C. on the National Mall June 7 to June 9, 2024, during the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development’s Innovation Housing Showcase. For the first time, ORNL’s real-time building evaluator was demonstrated outside of a laboratory setting and deployed for building construction.
February 8, 2024
6 MIN READ
In a win for chemistry, inventors at ORNL have designed a closed-loop path for synthesizing an exceptionally tough carbon-fiber-reinforced polymer, or CFRP, and later recovering all of its starting materials.