Center for Nanophase Materials Sciences
Encyclopedia
The Center for Nanophase Materials Sciences(CNMS) was the first to open of the five Nanoscale Science Research Centers the United States Department of Energy
sponsors. The Center's location is in Oak Ridge, Tennessee
. The CNMS is a collaborative nanoscience user research facility for the synthesis, characterization, theory/ modeling/ simulation
, and design of nanoscale materials and is co-located with Spallation Neutron Source
.
(ORNL) is a U.S.Department of Energy
/ Office of Science Nanoscale Science Research Center (NSRC) operating as a highly collaborative and multidisciplinary user research facility. The CNMS is one of five DOE NSRCs that form an integrated national user network. Each NSRC is associated with other major national research facilities at one of DOE’s National Laboratories, enabling their application to nanoscale science and technology. The central organizing concept of CNMS is to provide unique opportunities to understand nanoscale materials, assemblies, and phenomena, by creating a set of scientific synergies that will accelerate the process of discovery.
To accomplish this, the CNMS integrates nanoscale science with three highly synergistic national needs:
Within its research focus areas, the CNMS provides a broad community of scientists, engineers, and students from throughout the nation, but particularly the southeastern United States, with ready access to the full range of tools and collaborative capabilities needed for nanoscale research, in a single location.
United States Department of Energy
The United States Department of Energy is a Cabinet-level department of the United States government concerned with the United States' policies regarding energy and safety in handling nuclear material...
sponsors. The Center's location is in Oak Ridge, Tennessee
Oak Ridge, Tennessee
Oak Ridge is a city in Anderson and Roane counties in the eastern part of the U.S. state of Tennessee, about west of Knoxville. Oak Ridge's population was 27,387 at the 2000 census...
. The CNMS is a collaborative nanoscience user research facility for the synthesis, characterization, theory/ modeling/ simulation
Simulation
Simulation is the imitation of some real thing available, state of affairs, or process. The act of simulating something generally entails representing certain key characteristics or behaviours of a selected physical or abstract system....
, and design of nanoscale materials and is co-located with Spallation Neutron Source
Spallation Neutron Source
The Spallation Neutron Source is an accelerator-based neutron source facility that provides the most intense pulsed neutron beams in the world for scientific research and industrial development...
.
Science at the CNMS
The Center for Nanophase Materials Sciences (CNMS) at Oak Ridge National LaboratoryOak Ridge National Laboratory
Oak Ridge National Laboratory is a multiprogram science and technology national laboratory managed for the United States Department of Energy by UT-Battelle. ORNL is the DOE's largest science and energy laboratory. ORNL is located in Oak Ridge, Tennessee, near Knoxville...
(ORNL) is a U.S.Department of Energy
United States Department of Energy
The United States Department of Energy is a Cabinet-level department of the United States government concerned with the United States' policies regarding energy and safety in handling nuclear material...
/ Office of Science Nanoscale Science Research Center (NSRC) operating as a highly collaborative and multidisciplinary user research facility. The CNMS is one of five DOE NSRCs that form an integrated national user network. Each NSRC is associated with other major national research facilities at one of DOE’s National Laboratories, enabling their application to nanoscale science and technology. The central organizing concept of CNMS is to provide unique opportunities to understand nanoscale materials, assemblies, and phenomena, by creating a set of scientific synergies that will accelerate the process of discovery.
To accomplish this, the CNMS integrates nanoscale science with three highly synergistic national needs:
- NeutronNeutronThe neutron is a subatomic hadron particle which has the symbol or , no net electric charge and a mass slightly larger than that of a proton. With the exception of hydrogen, nuclei of atoms consist of protons and neutrons, which are therefore collectively referred to as nucleons. The number of...
Science, using the Spallation Neutron Source, SNS, and the recently upgraded High Flux Isotope ReactorHigh Flux Isotope ReactorThe High Flux Isotope Reactor is a nuclear research reactor located at Oak Ridge National Laboratory in Oak Ridge, Tennessee, United States...
(HFIR). - Synthesis Science, also called “science-driven synthesis,” facilitated by extensive and novel synthesis capabilities in the CNMS' first five Scientific Themes (described below) and by a new Nanofabrication Research Laboratory.
- Theory, Modeling and Simulation, through establishing a new Nanomaterials Theory Institute, with close connections to the staff expertise and computational capabilities of ORNL's Center for Computational Sciences and the new national Leadership Scientific Computing Facility.
Within its research focus areas, the CNMS provides a broad community of scientists, engineers, and students from throughout the nation, but particularly the southeastern United States, with ready access to the full range of tools and collaborative capabilities needed for nanoscale research, in a single location.
Scientific Themes
Research in the CNMS is organized under seven related scientific themes and a Nanofabrication Research Laboratory, (NRL; clean room), that have been selected to address grand challenges to scientific understanding as well as nanotechnology opportunities and needs. For each theme, the CNMS goal is to establish a world-leading in-house research program that will provide the support needed for a highly interdisciplinary and world-class user research program, in collaboration with the national user community.- Macromolecular Complex Systems
- Functional Nanomaterials
- CatalysisCatalysisCatalysis is the change in rate of a chemical reaction due to the participation of a substance called a catalyst. Unlike other reagents that participate in the chemical reaction, a catalyst is not consumed by the reaction itself. A catalyst may participate in multiple chemical transformations....
and Nano-Building Blocks - NanoPhysics: MagnetismMagnetismMagnetism is a property of materials that respond at an atomic or subatomic level to an applied magnetic field. Ferromagnetism is the strongest and most familiar type of magnetism. It is responsible for the behavior of permanent magnets, which produce their own persistent magnetic fields, as well...
, Transport, and Scanning Probes - Bio-Inspired Nanomaterials
- Nanomaterials Theory Institute (NTI): Theory, Modeling, and Simulation
- Nanoscale Structure and Dynamics: Neutrons, ElectronElectronThe electron is a subatomic particle with a negative elementary electric charge. It has no known components or substructure; in other words, it is generally thought to be an elementary particle. An electron has a mass that is approximately 1/1836 that of the proton...
s, and X-rayX-rayX-radiation is a form of electromagnetic radiation. X-rays have a wavelength in the range of 0.01 to 10 nanometers, corresponding to frequencies in the range 30 petahertz to 30 exahertz and energies in the range 120 eV to 120 keV. They are shorter in wavelength than UV rays and longer than gamma...
s - Nanofabrication Research Laboratory (NRL)