It is known that Albert Einstein constructed equations of general relativity by adopting Riemann geometry. In addition to the key role it played in mathematics and physics, Riemann geometry has provided predictions for the properties of curved carbon materials. However, synthesis of such complicated carbon materials with Riemann surfaces has remained to be a great challenge. In a study published in Nature Communications, a research team led by Prof. DU Pingwu from the University of Science and Technology of China (USTC) of…
New scaling law governing extreme nonlinear optical phenomena in solids discovered. Materials scientists may soon be able to control material properties with light. A team consisting of researchers at Kyoto University and Kurume Institute of Technology have discovered a scaling law that determines high-order harmonic generation in the solid-layered perovskite material, Ca2RuO4. High-order harmonic generation is a nonlinear optical phenomenon where extreme ultraviolet photons are emitted by a material as a result of interactions with high intensity light. “The phenomenon, which was first observed in atomic…
Scientists in Japan have found a common substance that can reversibly and rapidly store and release relatively large amounts of low-grade heat without decomposing. The research could lead to more efficient reuse of industrial waste heat. The results were published in the journal Nature Communications and were a collaboration between scientists at Tohoku University’s Institute for Materials Research and Rigaku Corporation, a company that designs and manufactures X-ray-based measurement and thermal analysis tools. In their investigations, the researchers used a…
DITF laboratory researches the use of lime bast and flax. The beginnings of textile manufacturing date back more than 30,000 years. Not only clothing, but also technical textiles were made from sometimes surprising materials. More than 2,500 textile fragments from pile dwelling settlements at Lake Constance and Upper Swabia were the basis for a large research project investigating prehistoric textile crafts. The German Institutes for Textile and Fiber Research Denkendorf (DITF) were responsible for material testing using modern analytical methods….
A bandage that releases medication as soon as an infection starts in a wound could treat injuries more efficiently. Empa researchers are currently working on polymer fibers that soften as soon as the environment heats up due to an infection, thereby releasing antimicrobial drugs. It is not possible to tell from the outside whether a wound will heal without problems under the dressing or whether bacteria will penetrate the injured tissue and ignite an inflammation. To be on the safe…
Researchers from Skoltech, MIPT, the RAS Institute of Solid State Physics, Aalto University, and elsewhere have proposed the first graphene synthesis technique that utilizes carbon monoxide as the carbon source. It is a fast and cheap way to produce high-quality graphene with relatively simple equipment for use in electronic circuits, gas sensors, optics, and beyond. The study came out in the prestigious journal Advanced Science. Chemical vapor deposition is the standard technology for synthesizing graphene, the one-atom-thick sheet of carbon atoms in…
Heat storage: A new heat storage material could help to significantly improve the energy efficiency of buildings. Developed by researchers at Martin Luther University Halle-Wittenberg (MLU) and the University of Leipzig, it can be used to store surplus heat and release it back into the environment when needed. Unlike existing materials, the new one can absorb significantly more heat, is more stable, and is made of harmless substances. In the “Journal of Energy Storage” the team describes the formation mechanism…
… to improve their electronic properties. Breakthrough by UChicago chemists could yield future devices such as next-gen displays and solar cells. You can carry an entire computer in your pocket today because the technological building blocks have been getting smaller and smaller since the 1950s. But in order to create future generations of electronics—such as more powerful phones, more efficient solar cells, or even quantum computers—scientists will need to come up with entirely new technology at the tiniest scales. One…
Realization of stretchable, adhesive, and mechanically deformable batteries that effectively transfer ions. Every component was designed to be stretchable to enable printing on clothing and use in wearable devices. A Korean research team has developed a soft, mechanically deformable, and stretchable lithium battery which can be used in the development of wearable devices, and examined the battery’s feasibility by printing them on clothing surfaces. The research team, led by Dr. Jeong Gon Son from the Soft Hybrid Materials Research Center…
Russian scientists have found out why, instead of simply burning down at high temperatures, graphene oxide opens the door to a promising and inexpensive graphene production method. The research was published in the journal Carbon. It has been over a decade since the Nobel Prize was awarded for graphene experimental research, but scientists still have not found a way to obtain high-quality large-area graphene, which would be cheap, efficient and scalable for industrial needs. Graphene reduction from graphene oxide by…
Rice theorists show unique electronics made possible by wavy patterns that channel electrons. Lay some graphene down on a wavy surface, and you’ll get a guide to one possible future of two-dimensional electronics. Rice University scientists put forth the idea that growing atom-thick graphene on a gently textured surface creates peaks and valleys in the sheets that turn them into “pseudo-electromagnetic” devices. The channels create their own minute but detectable magnetic fields. According to a study by materials theorist Boris Yakobson,…
No one would ever imagine crumpling up their smartphone, television or another electronic device. Today’s displays – which are flat, rigid and fragile – lack the ability to reshape to interactively respond to users. As part of an overarching quest to build “skin-inspired” electronics that are soft and stretchy, Stanford University chemical engineer Zhenan Bao and her research team have been developing a display to change that. Now, after more than three years of work, they show the proof of principle toward…
A challenge in materials design is that in both natural and manmade materials, volume sometimes decreases, or increases, with increasing temperature. While there are mechanical explanations for this phenomenon for some specific materials, a general understanding of why this sometimes happens remains lacking. However, a team of Penn State researchers has come up with a theory to explain and then predict it: Zentropy. Zentropy is a play on entropy, a concept central to the second law of thermodynamics that expresses…
Quantum computers are getting bigger, but there are still few practical ways to take advantage of their extra computing power. To get over this hurdle, researchers are designing algorithms to ease the transition from classical to quantum computers. In a new study in Nature, researchers unveil an algorithm that reduces the statistical errors, or noise, produced by quantum bits, or qubits, in crunching chemistry equations. Developed by Columbia chemistry professor David Reichman and postdoc Joonho Lee with researchers at Google…
Electronic structure parameter database can be useful in developing higher performance materials. The National Institute for Materials Science (NIMS) has succeeded in developing a new approach to the design of thermoelectric materials by constructing a database of electronic structure parameters correlated with materials’ thermoelectric conversion properties and by a comprehensive analysis of the database. This approach can be used to develop higher performance thermoelectric materials. Thermoelectric conversion is a viable means of harvesting energy to help achieve a low carbon…
When we currently see spectacular accidents in alpine competitions, we primarily think of leg and ligament injuries, but there seems also to be an increasing risk of cut injuries from the razor-sharp ski edges. Cut injuries are often severe and can in worst cases even be life threatening. The German Institutes of Textile and Fiber Research Denkendorf (DITF) carry out cutting tests on materials for the textile manufacturers and FIS, the International Ski Federation. Cut-resistant protection undergarment is awarded with…
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