SLAC topics

Chemistry and catalysis RSS feed

Catalysts are the unsung heroes of chemistry, accelerating reactions used to make fertilizers, fuels and consumer products. Our work aims to make catalysts more efficient and reduce the use of fossil fuels.

Energy sciences

Depiction of four techniques used to study a single-atom catalyst.

News Feature

Combined with the lab’s LCLS X-ray laser, it’ll provide unprecedented atomic views of some of nature’s speediest processes.

Alex Reid, ultrafast electron diffraction (UED)
Press Release

A new twist on cryo-EM imaging reveals what’s going on inside MOFs, highly porous nanoparticles with big potential for storing fuel, separating gases and...

Images of cryo-EM equipment, CO2 molecule in cage
Press Release

X-rays reveal an extinct mouse was dressed in brown to reddish fur on its back and sides and had a tiny white tummy.

mighty mouse false color
News Feature

Both are professors at Stanford and SLAC, where Martinez is an investigator with the Stanford PULSE Institute.

Stanford and SLAC professors Todd Martinez, left, and William Weis
News Feature

Scientists precisely control where single-atom catalysts sit on their support structures, and show how changing their position affects their reactivity.

News Feature

A new method could be used to look at chemical reactions that other techniques can’t catch, for instance in catalysis, photovoltaics, peptide and combustion...

molecule
Press Release

First direct look at how atoms move when a ring-shaped molecule breaks apart could boost our understanding of fundamental processes of life.

Molecular Movie in HD Art
News Feature

In the decade since LCLS produced its first light, it has pushed boundaries in countless areas of discovery.

Undulator Hall
News Feature

Researchers will use SLAC’s X-ray light source to probe 150-million-year-old dinosaur fossils at the atomic level.

Jurassic Mile
News Feature

A better understanding of these systems will aid in developing next-generation energy technologies.

synchronized molecules
News Feature

New research offers the first complete picture of why a promising approach of stuffing more lithium into battery cathodes leads to their failure. A...

high capacity batteries
News Feature

Detailed observations of iridium atoms at work could help make catalysts that drive chemical reactions smaller, cheaper and more efficient.

Depiction of four techniques used to study a single-atom catalyst