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The MagLab is funded by the National Science Foundation and the State of Florida.

Science Highlights

These monthly highlights represent the most promising and cutting-edge research underway in the lab’s seven user facilities.


Crystal structure of SrTa2S5, Illustration of intralayer electronic pairing, and Illustration of interlayer electronic pairing

September 12, 2024

Striped Electronic Phases in a Structurally Modulated Superlattice

Since the observation of Hofstadter’s Butterfly in graphene, scientists have been working on a veritable zoo of materials which can be exfoliated down…


The proposed structure of the DNA fZ-motif (left) with a negatively charged reverse dZ:dZ- base pair (right) that forms over the pH range of 8.0 to 9.0

September 12, 2024

A New DNA Structure Discovered

Scientists can create synthetic imitations of natural polymers, such as DNA, which provide an understanding of how nature works and can confer unique …


Left: Raiona working in the MagLab’s geochemistry lab, Right: Raiona presents her poster at the end of her 2023 High School Externship program.

September 12, 2024

Godby Science Scholars & the STEM Pathway

One young woman’s story demonstrates how MagLab STEM education programs provide research and career opportunities for underrepresented groups.


The electrolyte material incorporated in a solid oxide fuel cell.

August 14, 2024

Probing the Chemistry of Fuel Cells with 71 Ga NMR Spectroscopy

Solid oxide fuel cells generate clean energy by oxidizing green fuels like hydrogen and reducing atmospheric oxygen, without recharging or emissions t…


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August 14, 2024

Characterization of Improved SuperPower REBCO Tapes up to 31 Tesla Field

We demonstrated the ability to measure transport critical current dependencies Ic(B,T) of full-width REBCO tapes, giving direct feedback about propert…


Gas-phase fragmentation mass spectra (MS/MS) show bad (top right) and good (bottom right) materials for carbon fiber production. Bad materials have many single-core, high-molecular-weight hydrocarbons and sulfur-containing molecules, which don't make stable carbon fibers.

July 16, 2024

Chemistry and Properties of Carbon Fiber Feedstocks from Bitumen Asphaltenes

MagLab researchers use 21 tesla ion cyclotron resonance (ICR) mass spectrometry to identify the best way to produce carbon fibers from petroleum waste…


A phase diagram categorizing material behavior under high magnetic fields.

July 16, 2024

Discovery of the Reverse Quantum Limit

An analogue of the quantum limit in metals, where very strong magnetic fields confine electrons to the lowest Landau level, has been discovered in the…


Residual specific heat vs inverse magnetic field (H−1) at T=0.58K and Φ=45°.

June 20, 2024

Magneto-Quantum Oscillations Measured in Insulator Samarium Hexaboride

Topological materials are fascinating because they take the weirdness of quantum mechanics and turn it up a few notches to 11. The behavior of Samariu…


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June 20, 2024

Creation of First Europium(II) Single Molecule Magnet

This study reports the first example of a europium single-molecule magnet – a molecule that can retain alignment of its ‘North’ and ‘South’ poles at l…


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June 20, 2024

18O Water Used to Examine Metabolic Functions

Deuterated water (2H2O) is often used to examine metabolic pathways in humans and animals. However, it can cause toxicity and distort metabolic readin…


Improved mass resolution and signal-to-noise ratio in mass absorption mode mass spectra leads to more assigned chemical formulas within a complex fluid sample.   Reprinted from citation given below. © American Chemical Society.

May 15, 2024

ICR FAIR Data: MagLab Data Enhances Processing of Dissolved Organic Matter Mass Spectra

Combining new data with an existing MagLab dataset, researchers characterized the millions of unique chemicals found in our waterways, including both …


Left: Coil buckling at -0.4% strain Right: Measured hoop strain showed negligible degradation over 20,000 cycles.

May 15, 2024

Testing High-Field, High-Stress Conditions in Superconducting REBCO Coils

High-temperature superconducting test coils have been subjected to extreme combined loads from high, cyclic pressure and electro-magnetic forces to un…


The MagLab table at the inaugural North Florida Worlds of Work (WOW) Career Expo, October 20-21, 2023.

May 15, 2024

2023 North Florida Worlds of Work (WOW) Career Expo

The MagLab participated in North Florida's first "Worlds of Work" Career Expo event to expose high school students to the many high-demand, high-wage …


The Fermi surface of UTe2.

April 17, 2024

Quasi-2D Fermi Surface in the Anomalous Superconductor UTe2

At ultra-low temperatures in the 32T all superconducting magnet, MagLab users fully mapped out the Fermi surface of UTe2, learning more about how elec…


Left: The platinum group elements. Right: Study of a series of inorganic and organometallic compounds.

April 17, 2024

Unraveling the Mysteries of the Platinum Group Elements with 103Rh Solid-State NMR Spectroscopy

Rhodium (Rh) is one of the most costly and scarce platinum group elements; however, it is of great importance in many technologies including catalytic…


Mass spectrum of the initial sample extracted in methanol, with mass-scale zoom inset at m/z 536.

March 27, 2024

Evolution of the Molecules of Life on Distant Planets

The 21T FT-ICR MS instrument enables the molecular characterization of atmospheric hazes - like that on Saturn’s moon, Titan - and water vapor to bett…


(Left) Schematic cross section and field map of the Bi-2212 coil. (Right) The improvement of Bi-2212 current density.

March 27, 2024

An R&D Milestone for Bi-2212 High Temperature Superconducting Magnets

High temperature superconducting magnets offer tremendous potential for technological advancements and scientific discoveries, making them essential i…


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February 26, 2024

Using 75T Pulsed Magnetic Fields to Detect Chern Pockets With Large Orbital Moments in CsV3Sb5

Pulsed magnetic fields of up to 75 T were applied at many different angles to a newly discovered metal, CsV3Sb5, in temperatures down to 0.5 K. Unusua…


Left: Rendering of the nanocalorimeter wire-bonded to a printed circuit board mounted in a vacuum cell (shown without its lid).  Right: A photograph of the extremely small indium sample (dark rectangle in the middle of the image) mounted on the calorimeter.

January 23, 2024

Thermal Impedance Spectroscopy: A New Tool to Study Thermodynamics of Materials

This work demonstrates how heat is transmitted through elemental indium using thermal impedance spectroscopy. Spanning 5 orders of magnitude in freque…


(a) Average crystal structure of Na2Co2TeO6 with each Na site 2/3 occupied; Te and O atoms have been omitted for clarity. (b) Representative structure showing Na-occupation disorder,

January 18, 2024

Disorder-Enriched Magnetic Excitations in a Heisenberg-Kitaev Quantum Magnet, Na2Co2TeO6

Studying a mysterious magnetic material (Na2Co2TeO6) that could be used in future quantum computing schemes, researchers revealed the crucial role mic…


Last modified on 06 August 2024