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.

Five PNNL innovations earned 2026 R&D 100 Awards for advances in biotechnology, manufacturing, critical minerals, and nuclear security.

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.

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.

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.

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.

The first study modeling the mechanism of hydrated electron formation from aqueous iodide.

PNNL and University of Texas at El Paso leverage partnership and joint appointment program for a laboratory directed research and development project.

Computational chemistry libraries from NWChem, NWChemEX, SPEC, and more are now available on Azure Quantum Elements.

Research from PNNL and the University of Washington demonstrates the extension of the MBE for periodic systems and its use to decompose the lattice energies of different ice polymorphs.

Advances in understanding the nature of the chemical bond are featured in this special issue of The Journal of Chemical Physics.