X-ray imaging and computer modeling help map electric properties of nanomaterials

These materials generate electricity whenever

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mechanical pressure is applied to them, and they've helped shape how we use and interact with technology today. Piezoelectric devices can be found everywhere, from consumer electronics like wearable fitness trackers and smart clothing, to medical devices and motors.

Now researchers at the U.S. Department of Energy's (DOE) Argonne National Laboratory have developed a new approach for studying piezoelectric materials by using ultrafast 3-D X-ray imaging and computer modeling. Their integrated approach, reported in Nano Letters, can help us better understand material behavior and engineer more powerful and energy-efficient technologies.

"Our approach reveals a wealth of information about the underlying mechanisms that regulate the transfer of energy in such materials, as well as how stable these materials are under extreme conditions," said Argonne computational scientist and co-author Subramanian Sankaranarayanan.

"Using experimental data, we make informed models which in turn make predictions at space and time scales that experiments cannot reach," said Mathew Cherukara, the lead author of the study.

Read more at: https://phys.org/news/2017-05-x-ray-imaging-electric-properties-nanomaterials.html#jCp