http://www.pnnl.gov/science/ Fundamental and Computational Sciences Directorate en-us http://blogs.law.harvard.edu/tech/rss suraiya.farukhi@pnnl.gov christine.sharp@pnnl.gov http://www.pnnl.gov/science/highlights/highlight.asp?id=1401Results: In adding steam to benzene, C₆H₆, to generate hydrogen, the step that determines the reaction's speed is not the benzene's absorption onto the catalyst, but rather the first benzene bond that breaks, according to scientists at Pacific Northwest National Laboratory. The team further explored increasing the speed of the hydrogen-producing reaction by evaluating rhodium and iridium catalysts on a magnesium aluminum spinel support. Through experimental and computational studies, they found that small rhodium particles had a higher turnover efficiency than either larger rhodium particles or iridium. This research graced the cover of ACS Catalysis. ]]>Tue, 18 Jun 2013 00:00:00 PSThttp://www.pnnl.gov/science/highlights/highlight.asp?id=1400Center for Molecular Electrocatalysis, a DOE Energy Frontier Research Center, based at Pacific Northwest National Laboratory, was selected to receive the Royal Society of Chemistry's Homogeneous Catalysis Award. The organization presents the award every two years. ]]>Wed, 12 Jun 2013 00:00:00 PSThttp://www.pnnl.gov/science/highlights/highlight.asp?id=1398Mark Engelhard, Pacific Northwest National Laboratory's Institute for Integrated Catalysis, on being named a Fellow by the AVS Science and Technology Society. This honor is the professional society's premier recognition for members. Engelhard was recognized for his "sustained creative application and novel adaptation of surface analytical tools to address a wide range of energy and environmental problems and for service to the surface analysis community." ]]>Wed, 05 Jun 2013 00:00:00 PSThttp://www.pnnl.gov/science/highlights/highlight.asp?id=1399Dr. Ilke Arslan, Pacific Northwest National Laboratory, on having her scientific image chosen as the cover art for the North American Catalysis Society meeting.  The image depicts the morphological changes of a layered zeolite before and after delamination.  Delamination, the process of "peeling" apart stacked zeolite sheets, provides more accessible surface area where bulky molecules can react. This interaction is important for the petrochemical industry. ]]>Wed, 05 Jun 2013 00:00:00 PSThttp://www.pnnl.gov/science/highlights/highlight.asp?id=1392Results: Ammonia must overcome an energy barrier to join sulfuric acid and water to create clusters that can lead to cloud formation, according to scientists at Pacific Northwest National Laboratory and the University of Delaware. The team used surface-induced dissociation, which breaks apart molecules under controlled conditions. They found that when the clusters fragmented, they either lost an ammonia molecule followed by a sulfuric acid molecule, or lost the two molecules simultaneously. The energy required to dissociate a cluster is higher than the energy of the final products. This energy requirement implies that there is an energy or activation barrier that must be overcome for an ammonia molecule to join the cluster and help it grow. The research also suggests that the more conventional and simple-to-calculate diffusion rate should not be assumed to be the growth rate. ]]>Thu, 23 May 2013 00:00:00 PSThttp://www.pnnl.gov/science/highlights/highlight.asp?id=1391Wed, 22 May 2013 00:00:00 PSThttp://www.pnnl.gov/science/highlights/highlight.asp?id=1390Tue, 21 May 2013 00:00:00 PSThttp://www.pnnl.gov/science/highlights/highlight.asp?id=1386Results: Researchers at Pacific Northwest National Laboratory have uncovered the characteristics of a low-resistance electrical contact to strontium titanate, SrTiO₃, an important prototypical oxide semiconductor.  Oxides are likely to be important materials in next-generation electronic devices, and they need to be extremely small. Getting electrical signals into and out of oxide semiconductors is hard because a large energy barrier typically develops at the junction with metal contacts.  Metal contacts are required to get electricity into and out of a semiconductor device in much the same way that jumper cables are needed to transfer power from a healthy car battery to a dead battery. This work shows how to eliminate this barrier while keeping the contact area extremely small, at the nanometer (one billionth of a meter) level. ]]>Fri, 10 May 2013 00:00:00 PSThttp://www.pnnl.gov/science/highlights/highlight.asp?id=1384Results: Given two catalysts for the job of turning intermittent wind or solar energy into chemical fuels, scientists chose the material that gets the job done quickly and uses the least energy. A catalyst that quickly produces fuel but uses far more energy than it stores won't get the job. Scientists could measure the wasted energy, also known as overpotential, in water but not in other liquids, until researchers at Pacific Northwest National Laboratory devised a quick, elegant technique. ]]>Wed, 08 May 2013 00:00:00 PSThttp://www.pnnl.gov/science/highlights/highlight.asp?id=1381Results: Capturing carbon dioxide and storing it in underground rock formations is one proposed solution to mitigate climate change. New knowledge about the chemical reactions between stored carbon dioxide and forsterite (Mg₂SiO₄) is helping determine how much confidence can be placed in using igneous rocks with magnesium-rich olivines for long-term carbon sequestration. Scientists at Pacific Northwest National Laboratory determined that the carbon dioxide and forsterite react to form hydrated dypingite [(Mg₅(CO₃)₄•5H₂O)], which precipitates from solution. ]]>Fri, 03 May 2013 00:00:00 PST