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.

PNNL researchers demonstrate high-purity production of two essential gases to ensure a U.S. domestic feedstock for advanced quantum computing.

PNNL researchers are studying ways to use seawater and seawater-generated chemicals to acquire magnesium, lithium, and other critical materials.

Chiral nanotubes facilitate the direction-specific diffusion of carbon dioxide to be faster than nitrogen gas.

Critical minerals could be sourced from industrial waste at scale thanks to an AI-guided separation workflow developed by researchers at PNNL.

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

Autonomous science laboratories are taking shape quickly across the PNNL campus.

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.

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

Nanoscale domains of magnetically susceptible critical materials encounter enhanced magnetic interactions under external magnetic fields, providing a promising new avenue for separations.

David Heldebrant was selected for the 2025 Distinguished Service Award from the American Chemical Society Division of Energy & Fuels, recognizing his impact to energy and fuels chemistry.

The size of graphene oxide sheets affects the ability of assembled membranes and adsorbents to separate rare earth elements.

Scientists have tapped AI and powerful computing to speed up how quickly officials are able to learn important details about nuclear events.

A PNNL team has developed an energy- and chemical-efficient method of separating valuable critical minerals from dissolved solutions of rare earth element magnets.

Surface manganese mining from nodules in South Dakota is now possible with a new scalable selective precipitation process.

Cobalt substitution for magnesium in a model mafic mineral dramatically slows reaction with carbon dioxide to form a cobalt-doped carbonate.

Precipitation with sodium hydroxide in a flow-gel device enables the rapid extraction of magnesium from seawater in a new scalable process.

The atomic-level distribution of nickel and cobalt in forsterite depends on the concentration of the different elements.

The surface oxygen functionality of graphene oxide may be tuned using ultraviolet light, affecting how differently charged ions move through the material.