Researchers have invented an experimental wearable device that generates power from a user’s bending finger and can create and store memories, in a promising step towards health monitoring and other technologies. The innovation features a single nanomaterial incorporated into a stretchable casing fitted to a person’s finger. The nanomaterial enabled the device to generate power with the user bending their finger. The super-thin material also allows the device to perform memory tasks, as outlined below. Multifunctional devices normally require several…
The U.S. National Science Foundation (NSF) is looking for materials that “revolutionize and engineer our future.” Researchers at Iowa State University and the University of California, Santa Barbara think they can do just that by fundamentally changing Digital Light Processing – a type of 3D printing that users light rather than heat to quickly cure and harden liquid resin into plastic layers – to enable multi-material printing. “We want to produce two material properties with the same resin,” said Adarsh…
Novel ferroelectric material enables smaller and better semiconductors for microelectronics. Materials scientists at Kiel University and the Fraunhofer Institute for Silicon Technology (ISIT) in Itzehoe have cleared another hurdle in the development and structuring of new materials for next-generation semiconductor devices, such as novel memory cells. They have shown that ferroelectric aluminium scandium nitride can be scaled down to a few nanometres and can store different states, making it suitable as a nanoswitch. They have also shown that aluminium scandium…
Transition metal dichalcogenide nanotubes promise leap beyond carbon nanotubes. Researchers from Tokyo Metropolitan University have engineered a range of new single-walled transition metal dichalcogenide (TMD) nanotubes with different compositions, chirality, and diameters by templating off boron-nitride nanotubes. They also realized ultra-thin nanotubes grown inside the template, and successfully tailored compositions to create a family of new nanotubes. The ability to synthesize a diverse range of structures offers unique insights into their growth mechanism and novel optical properties. The carbon nanotube…
Lithium batteries power our phones, computers, many of our cars and so much more — even the drill and weedwhacker. But as technology advances, can they keep up in their current format? No, but there is a way forward, according to a new review paper from researchers at Hong Kong Polytechnic University, by further developing the electrolytes that allow for energy storage and discharge. The team published their work in Energy Materials and Devices on September 18, 2023. “Lithium batteries…
In addition to helping combat antimicrobial resistance, the bioparticle developed at the Federal University of São Paulo avoids the waste and pollution created by excessive amounts of drugs in water bodies. A novel biomaterial developed at the Federal University of São Paulo (UNIFESP) in Brazil can help solve two problems at once. As a bioparticle, it can act as a drug carrier, delivering medication directly to the gastrointestinal tract of fish in order to circumvent resistance to conventional antibiotics, for…
… replaces per- and polyfluorinated chemicals (PFAS) on everyday products. Fluorine-free into the future Whether it is pans, cutlery or packaging, per- and polyfluorinated chemicals (PFAS) have been used for coating in a wide variety of everyday products and processes for many years. Due to known risks of these substances to humans and the environment, at least a partial ban on the production and use of PFAS is expected to be implemented soon. The use of comparable alternatives is therefore…
Self-healing crystals could improve materials used in today’s electronics. In a surprising new study, researchers at the University of Minnesota Twin Cities have found that the electron beam radiation that they previously thought degraded crystals can actually repair cracks in these nanostructures. The groundbreaking discovery provides a new pathway to create more perfect crystal nanostructures, a process that is critical to improving the efficiency and cost-effectiveness of materials that are used in virtually all electronic devices we use every day….
Defects can make a material stronger or make it fail catastrophically; Knowing how fast they travel can help researchers understand things like earthquake ruptures, structural failures and precision manufacturing. Settling a half century of debate, researchers have discovered that tiny linear defects can propagate through a material faster than sound waves do. These linear defects, or dislocations, are what give metals their strength and workability, but they can also make materials fail catastrophically – which is what happens every time…
Rolling bearings are installed wherever something is in rotation. The wide range of applications extends from large wind turbines to small electric toothbrushes. These bearings, which consist of steel components, must be carefully selected and tested with regard to their quality in question. The grain size has a crucial effect on the mechanical properties of the steel. Up to now, the size of the microscopic crystallites has been assessed by metallographers by way of visual inspection — an error-prone method….
In a multi-year project, researchers at Chalmers University of Technology in Sweden have developed plasmonic plastic – a type of composite material with unique optical properties that can be 3D-printed. This research has now resulted in 3D-printed optical hydrogen sensors that could play an important role in the transition to green energy and industry. Interest in plasmonic metal nanoparticles and their many different applications has grown rapidly, developing across a broad spectrum over the past two decades. What makes these…
Continuous monitoring of sweat can reveal valuable information about human health, such as the body’s glucose levels. However, wearable sensors previously developed for this purpose have been lacking, unable to withstand the rigors or achieve the specificity needed for continuous monitoring, according to Penn State researchers. Now, the research team has created a novel wearable patch that may be up to the task. Made with a laser-modified graphene nanocomposite material, the device can detect specific glucose levels in sweat for…
Photovoltaic cells made of organic materials are light and flexible, which is why they are considered very promising. An international research network led by TU Graz is now aiming to increase the stability of the materials. Solar cells made of silicon have been around for 70 years. Organic solar cells, on the other hand, are quite new, but open up new possibilities for emission-free electricity production. These solar cells made of organic compounds achieve efficiencies of up to 19 percent,…
Coatings made from a wood by-product can keep our glasses and windshields clear. Researchers have developed a way to turn a waste material from wood into a bio-based transparent film that can be used for anti-fogging or anti-reflective coatings on glasses or vehicle windows. In addition to offering an alternative to the toxic synthetic materials currently used, this approach transforms a waste product into a valuable carbon sink. Lignin is an abundant waste product in paper and pulp production that…
… and could transform face mask efficiency. University of Liverpool researchers develop a new material that captures coronavirus particles and could transform the efficiency of face masks. A research team at the University of Liverpool has developed a new material that captures coronavirus particles and could transform the efficiency of face masks and other filter equipment to stop the spread of COVID-19 and other viruses. In a paper published in the journal Nature Communications, the team showed that the new material…
Studying prehistoric production processes of birch bark tar using computational modelling reveals what kinds of cognition were required for the materials produced by Neanderthal and early modern humans. Researchers of Team Langejans in the Materials Science and Engineering (MSE) department (TU Delft) recently published two papers on one of the world’s oldest transformative technologies, publishing their findings in Nature Scientific Reports. Measuring complexity Birch bark tar is the first time we see evidence of creating a new material, said Dr….
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