Institute for Cooperative Upcycling of Plastics (iCOUP)

Director

Aaron Sadow

Lead Institution

Ames Laboratory

Class

2020-2024

Mission

To uncover macromolecular and catalytic phenomena at the interface of molecular-scale chemistry and mesoscale materials science in order to enable upcycling of energy-rich plastics.

Partner Institutions

Ames
ANL
Cornell
Northwestern
UC Santa Barbara
UIUC
Univ of South Carolina

Quick Facts

Single Slide Overview
Technical Summary
https://www.ameslab.gov/institute-for-cooperative-upcycling-of-plastics-icoup

BES Staff Contact

Aura Gimm; Katherine Brown

Grand Challenges Addressed

Grand
Challenge #2

Grand
Challenge #4

Transformative Opportunities Addressed

Mastering Hierarchical Architectures and Beyond-Equilibrium Matter

Trans. Opp. #1

Understanding the Critical Roles of Heterogeneity, Interfaces, and Disorder

Trans. Opp. #2

BES Reports Addressed

Highlights

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A metallic line atop a medium biased at the edge of chaos can provide effective negative resistance for time-varying signals, outputting a larger signal compared to its input. The energy for amplification comes from the static bias applied to the medium.

The “Edge of Chaos” Amplifies Signals Without Transistors

Emulating the edge of chaos of axons enables a metal wire to overcome its resistance without cooling, thereby amplifying signals flowing inside of it.

Infrared laser light (red beam) illuminates the surface of ZrSiSe and mixes with electron oscillations enabled by an atomic force microscope (silver cone), propagating light as ray-like structures that guide the light through the interior (blue zig-zag).

What If Metals Could Conduct Light?

In the unusual world of quantum materials, metals can guide light in their interiors instead of merely reflecting it.