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Materials

News and Updates

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NIST-Made ‘Sun and Rain’ Detail How Nanoparticles Can Escape from Plastic Coatings into the Environment

September 30, 2016

If the 1967 film “The Graduate” were remade today, Mr. McGuire’s famous advice to young Benjamin Braddock would probably be updated to “Plastics … with

Supported by Granite, New SURF Beamline Is Real Heavyweight

September 21, 2016

If your work involves sensing, measuring or using ultraviolet light, the National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) has great news for you: Granite

NIST Releases Expanded "Fractography" Guide for Analyzing, Understanding Brittle Material Failures

September 16, 2016

Studying the fractures of industrially important materials such as ceramics and glasses provides important clues on why these materials can fail and how to make

Crystal Unclear: Why Might This Uncanny Crystal Change Laser Design?

August 26, 2016

Laser applications may benefit from crystal research by scientists at the National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) and China's Shandong University

Let’s Roll: Material for Polymer Solar Cells May Lend Itself to Large-Area Processing

August 12, 2016

For all the promise they have shown in the lab, polymer solar cells still need to “get on a roll” like the ones employed in printing newspapers so that large

This magneto-ionic thin film, made primarily of aluminum oxide, gadolinium oxide and cobalt, allows oxygen ions to travel up and down through spaces between the layers when pushed by an electric field.

NIST Reveals Valuable Fundamentals of a Stacked, Cracked Jack of All Trades

July 22, 2016

There is a crack in everything, Leonard Cohen sang; that's how the light gets in. Now a team led by scientists from the National Institute of Standards and

Illustration of prefilling a carbon nanotube with a desired chemical of known properties.

Simpler, Faster and Cheaper: A Full-filling Approach to Making Carbon Nanotubes of Consistent Quality

July 15, 2016

Just as many of us might be resigned to clogged salt shakers or rush-hour traffic, those working to exploit the special properties of carbon nanotubes have

Right Size + Right Chemistry = Right Stuff for Plastics Manufacturing

May 19, 2016

Plastic manufacturing is an energy-intensive process. Now, research performed in part at the National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) has revealed

A Crack in the Mystery of 'Oobleck'—Friction Thickens Fluids

May 5, 2016

By revealing missing details behind the odd behavior of a science fair favorite—a soupy mixture known as "oobleck" that switches back and forth between liquid

Model "patchy" particles self-assemble and provide guidance for understanding the nature of self-assembly in more complicated systems such as protein solutions.

How Do Nature’s Materials Stack Up? “Patchy” Framework Offers New Insights into Self-Assembly

April 19, 2016

Nature’s toolkit includes its still-matchless ability to effortlessly assemble proteins, membranes and other complex structures from parts lists of atoms

For Rechargeable Batteries That Crush the Competition, Crush This Material

April 1, 2016

By chemically modifying and pulverizing a promising group of compounds, scientists at the National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) have potentially

3-millimeter-long capacitors (top photo), NASA photo showing cracks(bottom)

New NIST Method May Find Elusive Flaws in Medical Implants and Spacecraft

February 29, 2016

Medical implants and spacecraft can suddenly go dead, often for the same reason: cracks in ceramic capacitors, devices that store electric charge in electronic

Transforming Welding with Comprehensive NIST Metrology

February 2, 2016

Welding has been around, in some form, for centuries. Today it enables a large percentage of the U.S. economy,* thanks to its role in the creation of a diverse

Thinking Outside the Cuvette: To Measure Dimensions of Skinny Glass Container, PML Scientists Get Creative

February 1, 2016

Let's say you're a biotechnologist working to develop new medicines or a better test for forensic analysis. You might find yourself frequently using absorbance

Quantum Information Transfer: From Microwaves to Motion to Light

January 28, 2016

When a long-awaited quantum information network finally arrives, in whatever form, it will incorporate two essential technologies: a method of generating and

Colorized micrograph of a NIST single-photon detector

Less Jitter, More Bits: New Material for Detecting Photons Captures More Quantum Information

January 5, 2016

Detecting individual particles of light just got a bit more precise—by 74 picoseconds to be exact—thanks to advances in materials by National Institute of

Electron micrograph of surface-directed nanochannels formed on surface of indium phosphide.

Nanoworld "Snow Blowers" Carve Straight Channels in Semiconductor Surfaces

December 28, 2015

In the nanoworld, tiny particles of gold can operate like snow blowers, churning through surface layers of an important class of semiconductors to dig

black and white image that looks like a dust bunny

Mixing Modern Materials? NIST Math App Helps You Manage Your Mashup

December 22, 2015

Imagine you're baking a special cake, one in which the shape of each mote of spice mixed into the batter can have a profound effect on your dessert's color, its

Scientist puts material down below a tube. Background: computer screen

NFL, Under Armour, GE & National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) Announce Five Winners of Head Health Challenge III

December 15, 2015

NEW YORK – The National Football League (NFL), Under Armour (NYSE:UA), GE (NYSE: GE), and the U.S. Department of Commerce's National Institute of Standards and