Amine functionalized graphene oxide yields laminates with an enhanced capacity to adsorb rare earth elements, improved water transport, and greater stability for effective membrane-based separation of critical minerals.

Establishing how electronic redistribution, protonation, and solvent rearrangement are coupled during a proton-coupled electron transfer process.

A new PNNL game teaches players about obstacles that fish face during migration.

New software enables the study of nuclear quantum effects in large, condensed phase systems up to 10× faster than traditional methods.

Replacing commercial acid with acidic waste enables researchers to improve nickel extraction efficiency, lower projected costs, and improve process economics.

Localized gradients in magnetic fields have long-range effects on the concentration of rare earth ions in solution, facilitating field-driven extraction of critical minerals.

Studying a series of rare earth element compounds revealed differences in their magnetic behavior that will be leveraged for separations.

PNNL researchers Daniel Deng and Yehia Ibrahim join the 2025 class of National Academy of Inventors Fellows.

Scientists provide a guide for the rational application of continuum descriptions of fluid flows based on interfacial chemistry.

Soil mineral preferentially incorporates rare earth elements based on size, with implications for critical mineral extraction.

Delivering an integrated quantum-mechanical and experimental perspective on the effects of both intrinsic and externally applied electric fields at atomic-scale interfaces.

Isotopically layered water films and slow heating enable diffusion tracking.

PNNL STEM Ambassadors engage students about salmon migration, hydropower, cybersecurity, water quality, and more at the annual Salmon Summit.

A team combined experiments and theory to predict the collective properties of electrolyte solutions.

The first measurement of the proton diffusion constant at cryogenic temperatures provides insights into the mechanism of proton movement in supercooled water.

Pacific Northwest National Laboratory researchers developed a new theoretical method for studying highly correlated systems.

A new mini-acoustic transmitter and tagging procedure is able to provide data on small, sensitive fish species like the American shad.

New methodological approach demonstrates how to assess the economic value, including non-traditional value streams, of converting non-powered dams to hydroelectric facilities.

Researchers investigated how stable nanoparticle suspensions form using facet engineering on hematite nanoparticles, demonstrating that controlling the faceting of nanoparticles can effectively maintain particle dispersity.

A PNNL study developed a water management module for Xanthos that distinguishes between the operational characteristics of hydropower, irrigation, and flood control reservoirs.