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University of Notre Dame researchers are using neutrons at ORNL to study how specialized molecules might improve petroleum production processes, as well as their potential uses in advanced photovoltaic technologies. Specifically, they want to know what effects functionalized molecules called petroporphyrins have on asphaltenes -- darkly colored, high-molecular-weight molecules abundant in heavy crude oil.

A team of researchers from ORNL and the University of Alabama at Birmingham recently developed the antioxidant manganoporphyrin, a new polymer that could potentially improve drug delivery methods and other biomedical applications. Using neutrons, they studied the strength and efficiency of a compound made from this material and tannic acid, a natural antioxidant.

Researchers are using neutrons at Oak Ridge National Laboratory to study a battery material that could offer a safer alternative to the flammable liquid component found in most types of lithium-ion batteries.

The observation of an abnormal state of matter in a 2-D magnetic material is the latest development in the race to harness novel electronic properties for more robust and efficient next-generation devices. Neutron scattering at Oak Ridge National Laboratory helped researchers investigate a graphene-like strontium-manganese-antimony material that hosts what they suspect is a Weyl semimetal phase.

A team of researchers from ORNL's Energy and Transportation Science Division is using neutron imaging to study particulate filters that collect harmful emissions in vehicles. A better understanding of how heat treatments and oxidation methods can remove layers of soot and ash from these filters could lead to improved fuel-efficiency.