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Breadcrumb

  1. Research
  2. Scientific Discovery
  3. Materials Sciences

Materials
Sciences

A multipronged
approach to a
multifaceted field

Researchers study the properties of different colors of glass.

Andrea Starr | Pacific Northwest National Laboratory

  • Biology
  • Chemistry
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    • Solid Phase Processing
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    • Materials in Extreme Environments
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  • Explainer Articles

The useful properties of materials really depend on how you combine their component atoms and molecules. The right combination can yield remarkable properties, enabling battery electrodes with better performance, new materials to capture and store solar energy, or new materials for applications for health care and computing.

Similarly, PNNL chemists, physicists, biologists and materials scientists combine their talents, tools, and capabilities to unlock the mysteries of nanomaterial formation, interface interactions, and particle attachment. Their research benefits from access to two unique facilities located on the PNNL campus.

The Environmental Molecular Sciences Laboratory is a DOE scientific user facility equipped with transmission electron microscopes, nuclear magnetic spectrometers, molecular beam epitaxy capabilities, as well as scientific expertise for interpreting data from such instruments. The Radiochemical Processing Laboratory features specialized labs to analyze microgram-to-kilogram quantities of fissionable materials and other radionuclides.

Materials research at PNNL informs several key research objectives, including efforts focused on environmental sustainability, grid reliability, and national security.

Recent News

MAY 20, 2022
Staff Accomplishment

Fifield Receives H.M. Hashemian Mid-Career Award

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Leo Fifield is a materials scientist specializing in how electrical cables age in extreme environments
MAY 19, 2022
Staff Accomplishment

Boettcher, Idrobo, and Xiao Begin PNNL Joint Appointments

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Composite image of three researchers in black and white on a patterned backgrount
MAY 18, 2022
Feature

Energy, Maritime Leaders to Convene for DOE InnovationXLab Summit

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Remote location in Alaska
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Research Highlights

MAY 11, 2022
Research Highlight

No Ball Milling Needed: Alternative Oxide Dispersion-Strengthened Steel Manufacturing

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Microscopy image in bright colors, showing small spheres of material with different colored elemental grains.
APRIL 27, 2022
Research Highlight

Ionic Liquids Tune Graphene Oxide Membranes for Efficient Separations

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Illustration showing membranes on top of a background image of the ocean
APRIL 15, 2022
Research Highlight

Particle-Based Crystallization at Extreme Conditions is Invariant to Initial Nanocrystal Morphology

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Two panel image with a close up on a line of fused nanocrystals on the left and a zoomed out view of multiple sets of fused nanocrystals on the right.
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Facilities & Centers

Environmental Molecular Sciences Laboratory Advanced Battery Facility Redox Flow Battery Laboratories Shallow Underground Laboratory Applied Process Engineering Laboratory Bioproducts, Sciences, and Engineering Laboratory Center for Molecular Electrocatalysis Interfacial Dynamics in Radioactive Environments and Materials Center for the Science of Synthesis Across Scales

Related Divisions

Physical Sciences Division

Related Links

What are Nanomaterials?What is Photoelectron Spectroscopy?Job Openings

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