An effective, stable solid-state electrochemical transistor has been developed, heralding a new era in thermal management technology. In modern electronics, a large amount of heat is produced as waste during usage—this is why devices such as laptops and mobile phones become warm during use, and require cooling solutions. In the last decade, the concept of managing this heat using electricity has been tested, leading to the development of electrochemical thermal transistors—devices that can be used to control heat flow with…
In a chemical reaction, molecules in different substances meet one another to form new molecules causing changes in the bonds of their atoms. The molecules collide at an extremely close distance—a nanometer or less—in an extremely short amount of time. This makes investigating the details of chemical reactions at the molecular scale difficult. Most experimental knowledge, used to explain single-molecule reaction dynamics, was obtained by studying reactions in gases. However, the overwhelming majority of chemical reactions take place in liquids,…
Rice U. scientists’ method could lower both emissions and building construction costs. Rice University scientists have figured out a way to engineer wood to trap carbon dioxide through a potentially scalable, energy-efficient process that also makes the material stronger for use in construction. Structural materials like steel or cement come at a high cost both in dollars and carbon dioxide emissions; building construction and use accounts for an estimated 40% of emissions. Developing sustainable alternatives to existing materials could help mitigate climate…
Researchers repurpose 3D printing to discover high-performance material. As the world looks for ways to cut greenhouse gas emissions, researchers from Sandia National Laboratories have shown that a new 3D-printed superalloy could help power plants generate more electricity while producing less carbon. Sandia scientists, collaborating with researchers at Ames National Laboratory, Iowa State University and Bruker Corp., used a 3D printer to create a high-performance metal alloy, or superalloy, with an unusual composition that makes it stronger and lighter than…
… could lead to next-generation energy storage devices. Flexible polymers made with a new generation of the Nobel-winning “click chemistry” reaction find use in capacitors and other applications. Society’s growing demand for high-voltage electrical technologies – including pulsed power systems, cars and electrified aircraft, and renewable energy applications – requires a new generation of capacitors that store and deliver large amounts of energy under intense thermal and electrical conditions. Researchers at the Department of Energy’s Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory (Berkeley…
A new method to grow single crystals and simultaneously control their growth orientation without melt processing has been discovered by Texas A&M University materials science and engineering doctoral graduate Dr. Hande Ozcan and Dr. Ibrahim Karaman, department head and Chevron Professor. The discovery of this new crystal growth and orientation control method in solid-state was recently published in the journal Acta Materialia. The research paper focuses on growing large single crystals and their ability to change their crystallographic orientation. Crystallographic…
Fraunhofer researchers have succeeded in using the bioresorbable silica gel Renacer® to produce an electrospun membrane that is neither cytotoxic to cells nor genotoxic. This model mimics fibrous structures found in connective tissue and is therefore particularly suitable for regenerative applications, such as for improved wound healing. The treatment of large as well as internal wounds is challenging and can be a very lengthy process. Researchers at the Fraunhofer Institute for Silicate Research ISC and the Fraunhofer Institute for Toxicology…
A new computational framework could help researchers design granular hydrogels to repair or replace diseased tissues. Gel-like materials that can be injected into the body hold great potential to heal injured tissues or manufacture entirely new tissues. Many researchers are working to develop these hydrogels for biomedical uses, but so far very few have made it into the clinic. To help guide in the development of such materials, which are made from microscale building blocks akin to squishy LEGOs, MIT…
Drexel researchers create 6V textile supercapacitor to power wearable technology. Researchers at Drexel University are one step closer to making wearable textile technology a reality. Recently published in the Royal Society of Chemistry’s Journal of Material’s Chemistry A, materials scientists from Drexel’s College of Engineering, in partnership with a team at Accenture Labs, have reported a new design of a flexible wearable supercapacitor patch. It uses MXene, a material discovered at Drexel University in 2011, to create a textile-based supercapacitor…
An interdisciplinary team of researchers from the Max Planck Institute of Colloids and Interfaces (MPICI) has investigated how the natural properties of native tree bark can be used to create a standardized product for long-term use without the addition of adhesives. In doing so, they have created bark panels by peeling and drying via hot pressing, which could be used in interior design or furniture and packaging, for example, through industrial production. With this processing method, the natural resource of…
International researcher team presents a novel microstructure design strategy for lean medium-manganese steels with optimized properties in the journal Science. Cars, buildings, infrastructures – all unimaginable without steels. While metallic materials have been known and manufactured since more than 5000 years, there is permanent need of further property improvement, especially as new processing opportunities emerge while at the same time sustainability concerns associated with alloying elements become more important. This shifts a few main constraints in the research focus: sustainability,…
Technology helps sensor and camera systems perform optimally by keeping optics transparent. Researchers have developed an optical coating system that combines antifogging and antireflective properties. The new technology could help boost the performance of lidar systems and cameras. “Walking into a warm room from the cold outside can cause glasses to fog up, blinding the user,” said research team leader Anne Gärtner from Fraunhofer Institute for Applied Optics and Precision Engineering and Friedrich Schiller University Jena, both in Jena, Germany….
Translating electrochemical performance of large format batteries to microscale power sources has been a long-standing technological challenge, limiting the ability of batteries to power microdevices, microrobots and implantable medical devices. University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign researchers have created a high-voltage microbattery (> 9 V), with high-energy and -power density, unparalleled by any existing battery design. Material Science and Engineering Professor Paul Braun (Grainger Distinguished Chair in Engineering, Materials Research Laboratory Director), Dr. Sungbong Kim (Postdoc, MatSE, current assistant professor at Korea…
Researchers from Japan and Germany develop a new sustainable way to upconvert blue LED light to UVB. An international team of researchers from Japan and Germany has developed a new system that upconverts blue LED light into high-energy Ultraviolet B, or UVB, light. As the system does not require any of the toxic and inefficient materials that are traditionally used for UVB production, it opens the door for applications using UVB that are more sustainable and eco-friendly. The results were…
Sometimes friction is good, such as the friction between a road and a car’s tires to prevent the vehicle from skidding. But sometimes friction is bad — if you did not put oil in that very same car, there would be so much friction in the bearings of the engine that the car could not operate. A material state known as super-lubricity, where friction between two contacting surfaces nearly vanishes, is a phenomenon that materials researchers have studied for years…
Two-dimensional material could make novel strain sensors, photodetectors and other nanodevices a reality. The optical, electrical and mechanical properties of some materials change depending on the direction or orientation of the material. Depending on how wood is cut, for example, the orientation of the wood grain can result in a stronger or weaker material with different appearances. This same principal applies to ultrathin, two-dimensional (2D) materials with unique properties such as magnetism. Depending on the direction of a mechanical strain…
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