The Advanced Photon Source
a U.S. Department of Energy Office of Science User Facility

An “Artificial Photosynthesis” System that is 10 Times More Efficient than Existing Systems:  Research at the U.S. Department of Energy’s Advanced Photon Source shows an innovative new system for artificial photosynthesis that is more productive than previous artificial systems by an order of magnitude. Unlike regular photosynthesis, which produces carbohydrates from carbon dioxide and water, artificial photosynthesis could produce ethanol, methane, or other fuels.

Defining How a “Toxin Sponge” Found in Frogs and Toads Halts a Deadly Neurotoxin:  Red tides are becoming more frequent due to climate change. Cyanobacteria and dinoflagellates found in red tides can produce saxitoxin (STX), a neurotoxin that is so poisonous that it is the only marine toxin to have been declared a chemical weapon. Research at the U.S. Department of Energy’s Advanced Photon Source could lead to the design of biological tools that can detect or neutralize STX and related toxins, an important step in combating paralytic shellfish poisoning.

Stretchable Organic Transistors for Biomedical Applications:  Scientists have succeeded in fabricating organic transistors that can be stretched to over twice their original length for thousands of cycles without degrading their performance. Research at the U.S. Department of Energy’s Advanced Photon Source revealed details about this new, highly durable material that is a major advance toward the practical use of thin-film organic electrochemical transistor materials in many biomedical and sensor applications, as well as for other applications such as soft robotics.

Understanding Antibodies with Broad Specificity May Lead to Better Coronavirus Vaccines:  The amazing response of the scientific community to the SARS-CoV-2 pandemic led to rapid development and approval of anti-SARS-CoV-2 vaccines, saving millions of lives. Research at the U.S. Department of Energy’s Advanced Photon Source identified an antibody that recognizes and neutralizes a broad array of coronaviruses and used a structural approach to identify the viral epitope the antibody recognizes, which provides the basis for potential development of broadly effective anti-coronavirus vaccines and therapeutic antibodies.

New System to Visualize 3-D Metal Printing Process May Tap Its Unrealized Potential:  The additive manufacturing technique electron beam-powder bed fusion (EB-PBF) has grown rapidly in recent years. Research at the U.S. Department of Energy’s Advanced Photon Source demonstrated that sub-surface properties of parts manufactured with this printing process can be readily visualized, a powerful tool for studying in real time the dynamics and mechanisms of the EB-PBF process.

How Water and Ions Interact with Graphene Oxide Films:  Membranes are useful for separating materials from solutions, and graphene oxide (GO) membranes might prove superior to those made from polymers because of their greater durability and mechanical strength, especially in applications such as removing radioactive elements from contaminated groundwater. Scientists used the U.S. Department of Energy’s Advanced Photon Source to characterize how water and rare earth elements interact with GO. Their results could aid in the design of new membranes fit to a particular use.

It Pays to Break the Rules When Synthesizing Intermetallic Nanoparticles:  Bimetallic intermetallic nanoparticles (NPs) are receiving increased attention because of their proven ability to selectively tune and optimize catalytic processes. By capitalizing on the insights gleaned from studies carried out at two x-ray light sources including the U.S. Department of Energy’s Advanced Photon Source, the researchers hope to develop new design principles leading to an expanded library of intermetallic NPs.

Piecing Together the Early Solar System Using Returned Samples from Asteroid Ryugu: A globe-spanning team of scientists using several synchrotron x-ray research facilities, including the U.S. Department of Energy’s Advanced Photon Source, employed many types of analyses to characterize asteroid Ryugu, concluding that its parent body was formed beyond the orbit of Jupiter in the early Solar System and to describe the alteration by water and heat that transformed the parent body into the asteroid as it is today.

Structure-based Protein Design Advances Vaccine Development for Human Metapneumovirus:  A team of researchers carrying out experiments at the U.S. Department of Energy’s Advanced Photon Source obtained information that has the potential to advance the development of vaccines and therapeutics to combat a serious and potentially life-threatening virus.

Grazing-Incidence X-rays Illuminate Solar Cell Film Formation Mechanisms:  As the demand for solar cells grows, so does the demand for less expensive, more efficient, and more reliable materials to build them. Research using the U.S. Department of Energy’s Advanced Photon Source describes steps for producing new, highly optimal materials for fabricating low-cost, reliable solar cells. 

Under Pressure, “Squishy” Compound Reacts in Remarkable Ways:  From insulator to metal and back again—a new transition phenomenon has been reported by scientists using the U.S. Department of Energy’s Advanced Photon Source.